Research
Database

"Theoretical background and objectives This project explores how policies regarding immigrant rights and welfare state regimes have affected the socio-economic integration of immigrants. Most of the literature on immigrant integration assumes that the granting of easy access of immigrants to citizenship rights and government recognition and support for cultural diversity promote the socio-economic integration of immigrants. At the same time, existing work (e.g., Borjas, van Tubergen) has shown that immigrants with low human capital resources tend to migrate preferably to countries with equal income distributions and extensive social security protection. This raises the question whether immigrant integration policies that grant easy access to citizenship rights, and thus also full access to welfare state rights, might have the unintended consequence that they produce a high rate of dependence of immigrants on welfare state arrangements and attendant socio-economic marginalisation in other domains. If integration policies in addition do not demand cultural assimilation (e.g., in the domain of language) the risk of lower-skilled immigrants to become dependent on welfare benefits may further increase. This hypothesis of an interaction effect between integration policies and welfare state regimes is confronted with cross-national data on labour market participation, residential segregation, and imprisonment of immigrants. Where possible, these comparisons are controlled for cross-national differences in the composition of immigrant populations by drawing on comparative data for particular ethnic groups. The analysis includes eight West European countries that have turned into immigration countries at roughly the same time in the 1960s and early 1970s, where institutions have therefore had several decades to affect integration outcomes. They vary both strongly regarding integration policies (including the highest, Sweden, and the second lowest scoring country, Austria, in the 2007 Migrant Integration Policy Index) and regarding welfare state regimes (with Sweden and the United Kingdom at the extremes). Research design, data and methodology The study relies on various indicators of immigrant rights, prevalent typologies and indicators of welfare state regimes, and data from the European Labour Force Survey, International Prison Statistics, as well as results from a large number of previous studies on immigrants' labour market participation, residential segregation and imprisonment. To control for composition effects, the labour market data refer to immigrants from non-EU countries, and for specific country contrasts specific ethnic groups (Turks and ex-Yugoslavs). Residential segregation data refer to a few dozen European cities, partly referring to specific ethnic groups (e.g., Turks, Maghrebians, Caribbeans, Pakistani) and partly to more general categories (Muslims, foreigners, immigrants). Findings Across the three domains of socio-economic integration a consistent cross-national patterns is found (with the exception of residential segregation in the United Kingdom) in which the gap or the degree of segregation between immigrants and the native population is largest in the countries that combine easy access to citizenship rights and a large degree of accommodation of cultural differences with a relatively encompassing and generous welfare state (Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium). Both the United Kingdom, which combines inclusive integration policies with low welfare state provision levels, and the three Germanophone countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), which combine restrictive policies with – at least in the German and Austrian cases – moderately strong welfare states, show relatively small gaps between immigrants and natives. These findings are confirmed for contrast comparisons for specific ethnic groups. For instance, compared to the native population, Turks in the Netherlands have much lower rates of labour market participation than German Turks, and similarly ex-Yugoslavs in Austria perform much better than those in Sweden. Because the results are mostly based on aggregate data – although some of the studies that are used do control for individual-level variables – they need to be further tested by taking individual and local context data more systematically into account. This will be one of the aims of the analyses in the context of project 6.3 further below."

The increasing ethnic and religious diversity of the population in European cities has generated politically and ideologically controversial discussions about interethnic coexistence and the future of social cohesion. The issue of the integration of a heterogeneous immigrant population has become a priority for urban decision-makers and politicians in the European Union. Concrete encounters between different migrant groups and non-migrants mostly take place in the workplace and at the local level of the neighbourhood. The actual form that intercultural contacts and conflicts in urban settings take and their consequences for individual attitudes are still widely unknown. The GEITONIES (“neighbourhood” in Greek) project was concerned with how interethnic interactions, in neighbourhoods in European cities might help towards the creation of a more tolerant, cohesive and integrated society. Research was conducted in Bilbao, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Thessaloniki, Vienna and Warsaw. The main questions looked at how interethnic contacts are determined by spatial micro-level units and how these contacts affect tolerant or intolerant individual attitudes towards members of other ethnic groups. This project aimed to address these issues from a relational perspective through the lens of place, assuming that in contemporary multi-ethnic European cities, spaces of intercultural communication and engagement are vital to promote tolerance, cohesion, participation and inclusion in society.

DIASPEACE seeks to generate policy-relevant, evidence-based knowledge on how diasporas (exiled populations from conflict regions) play into the dynamics of conflict and peace in their countries of origin. In a globalised world diasporas have become new forces shaping the interactions between countries, regions and continents. On one hand, they are seen to fuel conflict by transferring remittances and logistic support to the warring parties, and to exacerbate tensions through radical mobilisation along ethnic and religious lines. One the other, diaspora groups are playing an increasingly prominent role in peace and reconciliation processes. There is a need for a balanced empirical account of the nature, motivations and impact of transnational diaspora activities in conflict settings. The project has an empirical focus on diaspora networks operating in Europe which extend their transnational activities to the Horn of Africa. This is a region where decades of violent conflict have resulted in state collapse and the dispersal of more than two million people. The project will conduct field research in seven European countries and in Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. DIASPEACE aims to: a) devise and test methodologies of multi-sited comparative research and to develop the conceptual framework for researching migrant political transnationalism in a conflict context; b) facilitate interaction between diaspora and other stakeholders in Europe and in the Horn of Africa; c) provide policy input on how to better involve diaspora in conflict resolution and peace-building interventions, and how to improve coherence between security, development and immigration policies. The consortium involves six partners from Europe and two from the Horn of Africa, bringing together cross-disciplinary expertise from the fields of Conflict Analysis, Migration Studies and Anthropology among others. The project is coordinated by the University of Jyväskylä in Finland.

The Undocumented Worker Transitions (UWT) project will document the factors that underlie migration flows, illegal and legal, focusing on undocumented migrants and under-documented migrants, whose migration status limits or prevents their working. The link between work and migration flows is at its heart: what knowledge such migrants have of their host labour markets, how they find work, what work they do, what transitions between different jobs and statuses take place and what impact their working arrangements and migration have more generally both in the host country and in their countries of origin. Recognising that gender, age and ethnicity are key factors in understanding migrant and refugee flows, UWT will analyse migration and work trajectories in a differentiated way to better understand the process. The ethical issues are considerable and the project will guarantee its interviewees complete anonymity while ensuring that researchers' personal safety is not compromised. Its purpose is to deepen understanding and awareness of contemporary migration flows and to present clear choices to policymakers, not to provide an assessment of the efficacy of policing. Our objectives are as follows: to give more reliable estimates of migration and refugee flows into the EU; to deepen understanding of the impact of migration flows on EU labour markets; to theorise the relationship between the presence of 'informal' or 'shadow' industry labour markets and migration flows; to map and model migrant and refugee pathways in to and within the EU; to deepen knowledge of how legal status interacts with migrant labour market positions; to deepen understanding of the impact of migration flows on countries of origin; to test key theories concerning human capital and social capital in relation to migration; and to explore the particular consequences of migration for women workers, including trafficked workers. At the core are in-depth interviews with 210 migrant and refugee workers.

Data on migration policy changes, migration and emigration flows and bilateral migration flows. DEMIG TOTAL: reports immigration, emigration and net migration flows for up to 161 countries covering various periods of time from the early 1800s to 2011, disaggregating total flows of citizens and foreigners whenever possible. The dataset allows for quantitative analysis of the long-term evolution of international migration.