scholarly journals Naturalization Fosters the Long-Term Political Integration of Immigrants

Author(s):  
Jens Hainmueller ◽  
Dominik Hangartner ◽  
Giuseppe Pietrantuono
2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (41) ◽  
pp. 12651-12656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Hainmueller ◽  
Dominik Hangartner ◽  
Giuseppe Pietrantuono

Does naturalization cause better political integration of immigrants into the host society? Despite heated debates about citizenship policy, there exists almost no evidence that isolates the independent effect of naturalization from the nonrandom selection into naturalization. We provide new evidence from a natural experiment in Switzerland, where some municipalities used referendums as the mechanism to decide naturalization requests. Balance checks suggest that for close naturalization referendums, which are decided by just a few votes, the naturalization decision is as good as random, so that narrowly rejected and narrowly approved immigrant applicants are similar on all confounding characteristics. This allows us to remove selection effects and obtain unbiased estimates of the long-term impacts of citizenship. Our study shows that for the immigrants who faced close referendums, naturalization considerably improved their political integration, including increases in formal political participation, political knowledge, and political efficacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 619-627
Author(s):  
Nataliia Tkachova ◽  
Taisiia Krushelnytska ◽  
Oksana Marchenko ◽  
Nataliya Kuznetsova

The issues of sustainable development are related to the need in order to reduce poverty, inequality, insecurity, inclusion of immigrants in the system of education and health care, which contradicts the effective long-term solution of the global goals of EU migration policy. The aim of the research is to study the effectiveness of migration policy in the context of sustainable development on the example of EU countries in order to formulate proposals for overcoming the problems of inequality and poverty as priority goals. The results of the research complement the theory of the new economics of labour migration, considering this concept as a way to maximize income and reduce the risk of revenue through education, higher wages and a way to get better health and education services, access to developed infrastructure. However, the heterogeneity of the effects of migration is also reflected in the inability to obtain health services and access to the education system due to the high cost. All this exacerbates the problems of inequality and poverty due to the imbalance of both income and the cost of social services in different EU countries. It has been determined that the policy of integration of immigrants does not ensure the achievement of the goal of inclusive and equitable socialeconomic welfare. Inequality, in particular, gender one remains the main problem of sustainable development through illegal employment and different levels of remuneration. It has been proved that training should be considered in the context of sustainable development as providing access to the education system and programs. Despite the growing participation in educational programs and training of immigrants, the problems of inequality and poverty remain a priority for ensuring sustainable development.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. eaay1610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Hainmueller ◽  
Dominik Hangartner ◽  
Dalston Ward

We provide evidence that citizenship catalyzes the long-term economic integration of immigrants. Despite the relevance of citizenship policy to immigrant integration, we lack a reliable understanding of the economic consequences of acquiring citizenship. To overcome nonrandom selection into naturalization, we exploit the quasi-random assignment of citizenship in Swiss municipalities that held referendums to decide the outcome of individual naturalization applications. Our data combine individual-level referendum results with detailed social security records from the Swiss authorities. This approach allows us to compare the long-term earnings of otherwise similar immigrants who barely won or lost their referendum. We find that winning Swiss citizenship in the referendum increased annual earnings by an average of approximately 5000 U.S. dollars over the subsequent 15 years. This effect is concentrated among more marginalized immigrants.


1977 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Inglehart

BENEATH THE ACTIVISM OF THE 1960s AND THE SEEMING QUIESCENCE of the 1970s a silent revolution has been occurring which is changing the infrastructure of Western politics in two ways: first, the values of Western publics have been shifting from an almost exclusive emphasis on material and physical security toward greater concern with intangible aspects of life; and secondly, there has been an increase in the political skills of Western publics that enables them to play a more active role in making important political decisions. Both processes tend to broaden the political horizons of these people and have important implications for supranational political integration.


2017 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
JENS HAINMUELLER ◽  
DOMINIK HANGARTNER ◽  
GIUSEPPE PIETRANTUONO

We study the impact of naturalization on the long-term social integration of immigrants into the host country society. Despite ongoing debates about citizenship policy, we lack reliable evidence that isolates the causal effect of naturalization from the nonrandom selection into naturalization. We exploit the quasi-random assignment of citizenship in Swiss municipalities that used referendums to decide on naturalization applications of immigrants. Comparing otherwise similar immigrants who narrowly won or lost their naturalization referendums, we find that receiving Swiss citizenship strongly improved long-term social integration. We also find that the integration returns to naturalization are larger for more marginalized immigrant groups and when naturalization occurs earlier, rather than later in the residency period. Overall, our findings support the policy paradigm arguing that naturalization is a catalyst for improving the social integration of immigrants rather than merely the crown on the completed integration process.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agneta Moulettes

PurposeThe article takes its point of departure in the current labor market debate on immigration policy and attempts to explore the way private labor market mediators involved in the integration of immigrants contribute to reproducing cultural stereotypes reminiscent of colonial ideas.Design/methodology/approachFindings are based on respondent-driven interviews with nine labor market mediators (seven women and three men) from eight private labor market agencies in Sweden.FindingsThe findings showed that the private labor market mediators put their trust in the neoliberal system and rely on the colonial discourses when convincing immigrants to assimilate into the dominant culture. At the same time, the findings also show that there is no evidence that the assimilating activities they offer will lead to long-term employment.Research limitations/implicationsGiven that migration across national borders has become a common phenomenon, the author suggests a call for critical reflections on the taken-for-granted notions of both self and others and the influences colonial discourses have on integration.Practical implicationsThe author would suggest a shift of focus from immigrants' cultural adjustment to society's and employers' responsibilities and readiness to adjust to prevailing conditions.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the labor market literature and the diversity management literature by adding insights from public labor market mediators' experiences of the help they offer immigrants to enter the labor market. It shows how mediators make use of dominating discourses to secure cultural hegemony.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 128-135
Author(s):  
Asya V. Voropaeva

The paper covers the issue of the social and cultural adaptation and integration of immigrants into Russian society. It is based on sociological studies that were conducted in Moscow, Penza, and Tambov. The analysis of immigrants’ responses to the study reveals difference between social and cultural adaptation in the metropolis and in cities that are located in other Russian regions. These differences relate to the immigrants’ employment, financial status, attitudes towards the culture and traditions of the host community, as well as their outlook regarding society and the future. We believe that it is important to introduce a long-term targeted program in the areas of education and culture for the purpose of facilitating the further adjustment of the second generation of immigrants. We also emphasize the necessity of involving the government in addressing the issue of integrating immigrants’ cultural values in everyday life into Russian society and culture.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-148
Author(s):  
Þorgerður Einarsdóttir ◽  
Thamar M. Heijstra ◽  
Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir

The ethnic diversity of modern states raises the question of where successful countries are in terms of immigrant inclusion. The number of immigrants in Iceland has increased significantly since 2004, and by the end of 2016, immigrants made up around 10% of the population of Iceland. Research reveals a gap between immigrants and natives in terms of social and political inclusion. This paper examines the social and political integration of male and female immigrants in Iceland via comparisons with the native population. We ask how native Icelanders and people with a non-Icelandic background experience their social position and political participation within Icelandic society. We focus on political efficacy, ideas about what makes a good citizen, and subjective status position as indicators of the degree of social and political integration. We use data from the 2014 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) on Citizenship, which is based on a random sample of 2,000 individuals and random samples of 600 individuals each targeting two of the largest immigrant groups in Iceland—Lithuanians and Poles—as well as the largest Asian immigrant group: Filipinos. Although the findings show integration of immigrants up to a certain extent, the differences between Icelandic and non-Icelandic participants are apparent and include certain disadvantages for participants with a foreign background. Although other variables—such as income, education, paid employment status, and age—play a larger role in social and political status than foreign nationality, the findings of this study suggest that there is room to improve the integration of immigrants in Iceland.


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