THE SINGLE EUROPEAN MARKET: DOES LABOUR MOBILITY MATTER?

The Single European Market (SEM) represents the final stage in the process of economic integration of trade in goods and services and the free movement of individuals in the European Community (EC). The discussion of the benefits of the SEM has been concentrated primarily on the extent to which the elimination of non‐tariff barriers will lead to greater economic efficiency. The progress in the creation of a single labour market within the EC is reviewed and the relationship between labour mobility and migration in order to assess the impact of the free movement of labour. It is argued that internal migration will generally fall due to the free mobility of capital. Where labour embodies significant human capital however, migration is expected to rise in response to the removal of barriers.