Generous to Workers ≠ Generous to All: Implications of European Unemployment Benefit Systems for the Social Protection of Immigrants

Abstract

Record-high levels of international migration both toward and across Europe have recently given rise to a new body of research on the social protection of immigrants. A recurring argument in this literature maintains that migrants are generally more likely to gain access to social benefits in generous welfare states. The article offers a critical review of this hypothesis with a focus on unemployment benefit provision. The tides of European welfare politics have produced a set of systems in the past which are today highly stratified on the basis of employment. This mechanism generates a considerable benefit gap in reference to migration, especially for those who arrived to their country of residency only recently. Empirical analyses with micro-level data for 14 Western European countries provide supporting evidence for this argument. The findings indicate a negative relationship between generosity and social protection which has not been accounted for in previous research.

The varying logics for supporting populist right-wing welfare politics in West European welfare regimes

“…The study interprets these differences in light of the higher degree of economic inequality in the conservative regime, generating more exposed citizens who experience relative deprivation (Stoetzer et al, 2021: 4). I have also argued that the opposite tendency in the social-democratic regime most likely reflects these voters' privileged position vis-à-vis immigrants (Gschwind, 2021), resulting instead in feelings of relative gratification (Mols and Jetten, 2016: 278). While the data studied here do not allow us to observe these mechanisms directly, the results are robust and align with theoretical expectations.…”

“…Still, several studies show that ethnic tensions also generate economic grievances among exposed voters in economically equal settings (Eger, 2010;Rooduijn and Burgoon, 2017;Burgoon and Rooduijn, 2021). However, as these voters have a more privileged insider position in relation to immigrants in the social-democratic regime than in the conservative one (Gschwind, 2021), the underlying mechanism explaining support for PRRPs' welfare-nativist discourse is more likely to be relative gratification (Mols and Jetten, 2016: 278). This mechanism can, for example, manifest itself in the belief that one's ingroup is more deserving of social benefits than outgroups, coupled with fears that outgroups threaten existing benefits.…”

Migrants and social policy: shifting research agendas

“…For instance, are universal welfare states, which in general are generous towards in-group members, also more generous towards migrants? Or are generous welfare states more likely to exclude migrants from access to welfare benefits due to fiscal pressures and welfare chauvinism (Römer, 2017;Gschwind, 2021)? Basically, this debate has led to two competing hypotheses prominent within social policy research: the so-called 'generosity hypothesis', presuming welfare generosity is positively associated with the social rights of migrants, and the 'dualization hypothesis', presuming that welfare generosity is negatively associated with the social rights of migrants (Römer, 2017).…”

“…Among the EU citizens of working age, 3.3 per cent resided in an EU country other than that of their citizenship in 2019 (Eurostat, 2020). Therefore, the topics of migration and social policy are at the top of the political agenda, and many countries have developed policies to deal with this intersection between migration and social policy (Breidahl, 2017;Koning, 2020;Gschwind, 2021).…”

“…In this edited volume, social policy is defined as 'an institutionalized response to social and economic problems' (Béland, 2010: 9). Examining social policies in relation to migration and integration therefore raises crucial questions about the rights of migrants within this institutionalized response, the inclusiveness of social protection systems, and how the conditions migrants are facing shape their life conditions (Koning, 2020;Gschwind, 2021). These topics lie at the heart of the social policy discipline as they lay the foundation for migrants' social citizenship, granting entitlement to social rights that guarantee a basic level of socio-economic and cultural wellbeing (Marshall, 1950).…”