Measuring integration in new countries of immigration

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to measure immigrant integration in emerging immigrant destinations. After several decades of intensive research, the definition and assessment of immigrants’ integration remains elusive. Increasingly more attempts have been made to foster scientific progress in the field in the las decades. Yet, immigrant integration in emerging destination countries remains particularly little studied despite several calls for more research on the topic. The developed integration framework (i.e. the Integration Score) is composed of 6 dimensions and 24 indicators of integration (4 indicators for every dimension). To empirically test the validity and internal consistency of the Integration Score, this article uses unique data collected as part of the Romanian Immigrant Integration Index (IIIR) research project consisting of a sample of 645 immigrant respondents from Romania. The empirical tests prove the validity and internal consistency of the proposed integration framework. The implications of this study are that a gap in the literature was addressed and this can play a key role in better understanding immigrant integration by offering a different view on how integration unfolds in societies with minimal institutional support.