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Migrants and integration summary
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Week 1Migration to European Countries: A Structural Explanation of Patterns, 1980-
2004
There is no clear answer to the question why migrants seem to prefer some countries over
others. Pull factors: what attracts migration to European countries?
There are 3 theories:
1. Economic and labor theory considers migration to be a reaction to labor market and
economic incentives. It’s a push-pull theory: supply and demand (macro) and cost-
benefit (micro). Critique: Migration is not this narrow and very industrial (now we
are in the post-industrial era). And migrants do not always come from the poorest
countries.
2. Cultural and world system theories predict that migration flows will occur according
to a center/periphery pattern. Migrants typically move from the periphery to the
center. This is a historic and colonial theory. Think about Indians in the UK.
3. Social network analysis assumes that migrants follow other migrants from the same
ethnic group, so already established migration networks.
These theories do not contradict one another.
Results from the paper:
The analysis demonstrates that migration flows react to economic incentives (1), they do not
per se go to the richest countries, but the countries with a labor market shortage. Also, it has
cultural theory with colonial linkages (2). The importance of the colonial past is not declining.
Bogus Refugees? The Determinants of Asylum Migration to Western Europe
(Neumayer, 2005)
Theories on what makes people seek asylum:
Utility-optimizing behavior. An individual weighs the costs of staying in his/her country of
origin versus the costs of migrating to the country of destination.
Threats to one’s personal integrity (human rights abuse, dissident political violence,
civil/ethnic warfare, and state failure) significantly raise the costs of staying.
The traditional neoclassical economic approach to migration emphasizes the importance of
the relative difference in wage rates and rate of return to human capital in the destination
and countries of origin as decisive factors in the international migration decision
Cultural and religious similarity helps to reduce the costs of adjusting to the new country of
destination. Similarly, the systems approach suggests that existing links and personal
contacts between destination countries and the country of origin might also facilitate
migration as they make individuals more familiar with the other country.
According to the network theory, a higher number of past asylum seekers from a particular
country of origin lowers the costs of migration for those left behind. This is because positive
examples have been set that migration can be carried out, and more or less dubious
,businesses will have evolved to help in getting visas or arranging for transportation
(traffickers). In addition, already existing asylum seekers might help newcomers in finding
their way in the country of destination and in the search for employment.
Geographical proximity will also lower the costs of migration as boats or land transport can
be used.
Finally, generous welfare provisions for asylum seekers lower the costs of migration.
Conversely, deterring measures such as restrictions on welfare benefits and working rights,
the risk of one’s application becoming rejected because of low recognition rates, limited
appeal opportunities, and the threat of forced removal all raise the costs of migration.
Developed countries have gone a long way over the last decade or so to raise these costs of
migration. Ironically, this has meant that asylum seekers have resorted more to the help
provided by traffickers.
Results from the study:
Economic hardship and economic discrimination against ethnic minorities lead to higher
flows of asylum seekers. However, political oppression, human rights abuse, violent conflict,
and state failure are also important determinants! Forced migration because of personal
safety.
Genocide/politicide, famine, and natural disaster variables are insignificant. One explanation
is that people fleeing from these events are likely to remain in neighboring developing
countries, or become IDPs (internal) within their own country. Another explanation could be
that these are short-term and one-off events.
The insignificance of colonial ties is a rather striking result.
If Western European countries want to tackle the root causes of asylum migration, then they
need to undertake policy measures that promote economic development (development
assistance and opening of European markets to imports), democracy, respect for human
rights, and peaceful conflict resolution in countries of origin.
Question: what do countries do: do they raise the costs of migration, or do they undertake
policy measures that promote welfare in the countries of origin? Why do they do A when B is
much more effective?
,Lecture 1: International migration
Movements across international boundaries, which constitute a change of residence (with
the intent to stay more than one year). The purpose is settlement.
Difference refugees and asylum seekers:
Pay attention to:
Diversity in nationalities, cultures and religions
Differences in time of arrival
Different counties
Trends in migration
There has been a shift between 18th century to now. Then, it was from Europe to foreign
countries (colonization). Now, it’s to Europe. And continental internal migration has
increased (within Africa, Within Europe).
Trends in NL:
Family migration is the main type
Asylum migration (fluctuates)
Labor migration (EU, Polish mainly return after years)
International students (EU)
How do we collect data?
Population registers, administrative sources (visa, permits), border controls, household
surveys and interviews.
Limitations:
Difficult to compare stocks and flow across countries: we have different definitions and ways
of collecting data. Also, illegal/irregular immigrants are not included in official data sources
(so they estimate).
Only a few survey studies focus on explanatory factors. These studies measure the intention
to migrate and not actual migration.
,Theories on migration patterns
CO = country origin, CD = country destinations
1. Neo-classical economics theory
People are rational; individuals move to where they will get the most gain. This is an
investment in human skills.
Macro level: push-pull approach.
Explanatory variables:
- income differential
- Unemployment differential
Recent studies apply broader push- and pull factors, which leads to nr. 2.
2. New economics theory
Migration decisions are taken by larger units of people (family, households, communities)
in order to minimize risk of household income.
Focus is more on CO (push factors). So: what happens in the country people are living in.
There is a notion of relative deprivation: reference group is other families/communities in
CO.
Main explanatory variables:
- Low/no access to capital (insurance, credit, consumer market)
- Lack of social security
- High transaction costs (interest rates)
3. Segmented (dual) labor market theory
Industrious countries have an inherent demand for immigrant labor.
Focus here is on CD (not CO). So, the pull factors.
,Explanatory factors: …
Demands of jobs in dual labor market:
- Primary segment = capital intensive sectors, with mainly skilled work with relatively
high income and status
- Secondary segment = labor intensive sectors, unskilled work, low income jobs (3D).
Not decision of individual, more focus on shortage of secondary jobs. Not Push and pull, but
a systematic economy from the country.
4. World system theory
Relationships between countries shape migration. Capitalist
investments of industrial countries to less developed (peripheral)
countries lead to migration to more developed countries.
Focus on the relationship between CO and CD.
Explanatory factors:
- Rate of growth in capital investments in CD and CO
- Former colonies
- Cultural similarities
- Established communication and transport connections
- Presence of main international harbors
5. Social capital and cumulative causation / social networks
Social ties in CD increase the likelihood of migration.
Different mechanisms how ties may influence migration decisions:
- affinity
- information
- facilitating
- encouraging
Focus is on ties as pull factor CD (but ties in CO matter as well).
Explanatory factors:
- Quantity and quality of relatives in CD or CO
- Migrant supporting institutions (CD)
, Week 2
Studying Public Policy through Immigration Policy: Advances in Theory and
Measurement. Filindra & Goodman (2019)
As migrants become another category of denizen, so too does the study of immigrant-related
policies become more similar to regular public policy. Immigration policy studies is therefore
both typical and an underutilized area of public policy.
Definition
Immigration policy refers to laws and rules governing the admission, removal, and status
change of noncitizens. Status changes include rules governing naturalization but also laws
relating to how and under what conditions one moves from different types of noncitizen
status, for example, how one can advance to a permanent resident from guest worker status.
Alienage or immigrant policy refers to laws that regulate the political, economic, and social
rights of noncitizens.
While immigration policy and incorporation/immigrant policy are fundamentally distinct,
scholars have sometimes grouped them as part of larger analyses of rights of migrant workers,
as well as family unification and refugees, recognizing that residence and welfare are often
tied to the conditions and status of entry. This correlation has also led to aggregation in the
other direction.
There are implications of labeling policies as “integration” policies? Has to do with issues
with the definition precision. To summarize, there are natural overlaps in the
conceptualization of immigration policy and immigrant policy. Definitional precision can be
difficult, a problem complicated by cross-national research.
Types of policy approaches:
Policies that target groups categorically: define access to or exclusion from rights and
privileges based on one’s membership in such a category. such as refugees, legal permanent
residents, guest workers, students.
Multicultural or cultural pluralism policies affect lives of noncitizens not through
status/category, but through group characteristics. Such policies seek to facilitate the social
and political integration of linguistic and cultural minorities by providing recognition of their
cultural differences aimed at protecting minority languages and cultures. E.g. language
accommodation by state.
Unlike categorical policies, these group-based policies straddle status categories to
include immigrant minorities (i.e., regardless of status or legality), indigenous peoples, and
national minorities.
The opposite of multicultural policies are monist policies which promote assimilation into a
dominant linguistic and cultural group (English only in the US).
Civic integration is different; multicultural policies structure group-oriented recognition and
accommodation while civic integration structures individual-oriented incorporation.
The data collection strategy is not perfect. It may lead to overinclusion and under inclusion at
the same time. Many policies (like the repealing of bilingual education restrictions) that affect
immigrants do not even mention the concept ‘immigrant’ and such.
result = distortion of the picture of state-level immigrant-related policy.
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