Politics of Labour Migration Policy Design in Austria and Sweden

This paper explores the politics of labour migration policy design in two coordinated market economies with strongly neocorporatist legacies -- Austria and Sweden – that have pursued radically different economic migration policies since 2000, with the former country pursuing a markedly more restrictive stance. Party politics and the role of the Far Right cannot wholly account for such pronounced difference. This paper explores the concept of political saliency, the role of media and employer organizations in shaping discourse and policy regarding “useful” and “necessary” economic migration. It hypothesizes that employer organizations are enunciating a nuanced discourse that stresses the need for liberalized migration regulation, but reflects the specific skill portfolio they see as complementary with their production strategies. This may entail the call for only very limited and sector-specific migration schemes.  Empirically, the paper draws on substantial field research, including archival work and elite interviews in both countries.