|
|
Migration and the Urban Economy of Rome
| This paper explores the critical relationship between migration and the urban economy of Rome, considering the motivations of those who migrate and the economic effect of this population movement on the city. Drawing upon a combination of ancient evidence, theoretical models of migration and comparative material from contemporary cities in the developing world, it is argued that the particular social and institutional framework of Rome limited the economic opportunities for new migrants, both temporary and permanent. Despite recent claims that poverty was always conjunctural for the able-bodied in Rome (e.g. Osborne 2006; Grey and Parkin 2003), many inhabitants of the city, particularly new migrants, faced absolute structural poverty and the ever-present threat of destitution.
References:
Grey, C. and Parkin, A. 2003. ‘Controlling the Urban Mob: the colonatus perpetuus of CTh 14.18.1’, Phoenix 57, 284-99
Osborne, R. 2006. ‘Introduction: Roman Poverty in Context’, in Atkins, M. and Osborne, R. (eds.), Poverty in the Roman World (Cambridge): 1-20
|
|
|
|
