How Do States Implement Liberal Immigration Policies? Control Signals and Skilled Immigration Reform in Australia

Abstract

States often face immigration “control dilemmas” between popular pressures for tighter immigration controls versus economic pressures for more liberal work visa controls. Using a systematic process analysis of recent policy developments in Australia, this article argues that the Howard government's large expansion of “wanted” forms of immigration hinged upon its ability to control “unwanted” forms of immigration. The concept of “control signals” is introduced to account for the government's success in exiting an immigration control dilemma, which allowed it to pursue skilled immigration reforms that would have otherwise proven difficult. A research agenda is established for examining the conditions under which the use of control signals is likely to be successful and for applying the concept to other realms of public policy where states face control dilemmas.

Reputation and talent mobility in theAsiaPacific

“…National governments have come to recognise the enormous value of imported human capital resources in all areas of their economy (Al Ariss and Syed 2011;Tung 2008;Wright 2013). National governments have come to recognise the enormous value of imported human capital resources in all areas of their economy (Al Ariss and Syed 2011;Tung 2008;Wright 2013).…”

Employer Organizations and Labour Immigration Policy in Australia and the United Kingdom: The Power of Political Salience and Social Institutional Legacies

“…Despite this surface-level difference, both governments maintained strong support for liberal labour markets and close relationships with peak employer associations (Wright 2015;Wright and Brown 2014). The differences in the geopolitical status of the two states have potential implications for their respective labour immigration policies and employer organization preferences.…”

“…The weakness of industry-wide skills mechanisms increases the likelihood of such externalities in liberal market economies, where employers tend to favour market-based solutions (Hall and Soskice 2001;Menz 2009;Wright 2012b). Adherents of the Varieties of Capitalism framework claim that employers in some states are more likely to lobby for certain policies because of rational preferences determined by national market institutions.…”

“…To what extent do employer organizations have strategies relating to labour immigration and how far do they influence government immigration policy? The mediating role of national-level policy processes is important for understanding increased labour immigration, especially in the context of populist pressures for tighter immigration controls (Freeman 1995;Hollifield et al 2014;Wright 2014). These questions are important given recent increased demand for immigrant labour in many advanced economies (IOM 2013).…”

Intertwined Mobilities of Education, Tourism and Labour: The Consequences of 417 and 485 Visas in Australia

“…This is part of what Chris Wright refers to as the 'control dilemmas' of migration governance. 46 These visas also serve a double neoliberal purpose in that they shore up the lucrative international education and tourism markets, while simultaneously, and largely covertly, supplying streams of flexible temporary labour into various industries and specific regions, creating a cheap and exploitable workforce with no access to social welfare and limited access to rights.…”