“La Generación Ni Ni” and the Exodus of Spanish Youth

Abstract

More than 300,000 Spaniards have left Spain since 2008, the majority being the well- educated youth. The exodus of youth represents an unusual and concerning phenomenon for Spain. This paper explores the factors contributing to the emigration of Spanish well- educated youth and uses the case study to extrapolate on implications for an integrated market in the European Union. It concludes that push-pull economic factors and an affili- ation with the European Union internal market encourage intra-European migration. The Spanish case demonstrates that within a community as integrated as the European Union, tensions between international markets and national sovereignty are bound to permeate the community. This tension is demonstrated by the validity of both terms "national crisis" and "functioning European Union market" to describe the emigration.