Transnational Families and Welfare Corridors in Central and Eastern Europe: Migration, Family Decommodification Potential and Welfare Policy

Comparative welfare research studies social protection within national regimes and asks how responsibility is shared between the state, the market and the family. That perspective captures only part of transnational family life. Families living across borders need to bring together income, care and practical knowledge while also dealing with different legal and institutional settings. This study develops two connected ideas—social corridors of migration and family decommodification potential—and examines them through an integrative synthesis of research with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Greater security for one person may rest on another person’s action in the form of either unpaid care or continuing labour-market dependence. Family decommodification potential is therefore regarded as both conditional and sensitive to how benefits and costs are distributed within the family.