Tuesday, June 25, 2013
1.14 (PC Hoofthuis)
Commonly referred to as the 'Progressive's Dilemma', most authors agree that there is an inherent tension between open immigration policies and generous welfare institutions. The way policy-makers have aimed to defuse this tension, however, differs sharply from one country to another. Some welfare states have recently decided to introduce restrictions and limits on immigrants' access to social programs and benefits. Others have chosen to employ a selective admission policy, attracting those immigrants who are least likely to turn to the state for financial support. Yet others have sought a remedy in extending integration services and immigrant-targeted labour market programs. This paper maps the currency these three policy responses enjoy in fourteen Western welfare states: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and US. It then proceeds to offer an explanation for the variation between these countries. I first show that actual patterns of immigrants’ economic integration have little to do with the dominant institutional response. Instead, we will see that an exclusionary response to immigrant welfare dependence is the most likely outcome in countries with a sizeable anti-immigrant party, exclusionary nation-building policies, and a non-universal welfare state structure.
