Migrants' Social Rights, Ethnicity and Welfare Regimes

Abstract

Comparative welfare state research has devoted little attention to the social rights of migrants or the ethnic/racial dimension, even though societies are becoming more ethnically diverse through international migration. Using data from the Luxembourg Income Study for the UK, the USA, Germany, France, Denmark and Sweden, this article represents an initial attempt to compare the social rights of migrants and citizens across welfare regimes. We examine the substantive social rights of migrants and ethnic minorities by focusing on their participation in social transfer programmes, and the impact of transfers on their ability to maintain a socially acceptable standard of living compared with the rest of the population. The analysis shows that there are major disparities between how migrant and citizen households fare in welfare states, and that the discrepancies widen for migrants of colour. When the analysis is confined to citizen households, the results largely correspond to the expected performance of welfare regimes. However, when migrants are incorporated into the analysis, intra-regime variations stand out in the case of the liberal and social democratic countries.

Family policies and single parent poverty in 18 OECD countries, 1978–2008

“…We refer to this as the pre/post transfer analysis of family allowances (see: Morissens & Sainsbury, 2005;Sainsbury & Morissens, 2012). While this type of analysis cannot account for socio-demographic characteristics, it provides insight into the degree to which poverty is affected by family allowances.…”

National Immigration and Integration Policies in Europe Since 1973

“…Particularly, the welfare regime (and the corresponding economic-industrial confi guration and type of labour market) together with immigration law have proven crucial for the position of immigrants. While the residential and legal status of immigrants determines, directly and indirectly, their access to public welfare and to the labour market as long as they remain foreigners, the distinct welfare regime in place shapes both the opportunity of access and the form and extent of benefi ts (Dorr and Faist 1997 ;Morissens and Sainsbury 2005 ). The systems that provide more extensive coverage for immigrants are the universal ones that include the whole residential population, like those in Scandinavian countries and, in some policy areas, in other countries (such as old-age pensions in the Netherlands and health care in Spain and the UK).…”

The Problem of Dependency: Immigration, Gender, and the Welfare State

“…Moreover, Bacchi (2009, 156-157) recommends that a policy analysis should transcend national contexts and connect different policy areas, and other scholars have argued that different national migration and integration policies are related to and should be studied comparatively in connection with theories on welfare state regimes and gender regimes (Apitzsch et al 2007, 216;Borchorst and Siim 2010;Keskinen et al 2009;Lister et al 2007, 138-39;Lutz 2007;Morissens and Sainsbury 2005;Sainsbury 2006;Williams and Gavanas 2008). I therefore investigate the connections between how "the problem of dependency" is represented in immigration policy, welfare state policy and gender equality policy.…”

“…Despite being faced with similar challenges, there is evidence that the social democratic countries follow rather different paths with regard to immigration and integration policies (Borchorst and Siim 2010;Brochmann and Hagelund 2010;Hagelund 2008;Keskinen et al 2009;Lister 2009;Morissens and Sainsbury 2005).…”

“…By inquiring into whose independence the subsistence requirement is meant to secure, I analyse the gendered aspects of this regulation by drawing on literature on welfare state regimes, gender regimes and immigration regimes (e.g. Apitzsch et al 2007;Borchorst and Siim 2010;Esping-Andersen 1999;Langvasbråten 2008;Lister 2009;Morissens and Sainsbury 2005;Sümer 2009). …”