Migration and the neoliberal state: accounting ethics in the Italian response to the refugee crisis

Abstract

This research adds to sparse accounting literature on immigration by problematizing the intertwined relationship between accounting and ethics in the neoliberal era. It explains ethical paradoxes inherent in the neoliberal project and how these unfold in the accounting practices deployed by the Italian state to handle the ongoing refugee crisis. Our analysis shows how the State's proclaimed conviction to the human right cause turned out to be neoliberal in nature. On the one hand, the use of accounting was indeed partially dictated by the State's mission of constructing the neoliberal citizen. On the other hand, accounting practices mainly prioritized efficiency over care and reflected the unwillingness of the State to enact responsibility for immigrants' human rights. We conclude that the use of accounting epitomizes complementary rather than opposing forms of neoliberalism and ultimately unveils the inability of the State to offer a humanitarian response to the immigration crisis.

Governance agility in reception of war refugees from Ukraine: The case of Wrocław, Poland

“…During the migration crisis in Europe in 2015, it was diagnosed that the authorities were withdrawing from their duties towards migrants, with NGOs taking over their duties, as well as creating space for commercial economic activities (Kersch & Mishtal, 2016;L opez-Sala & Godenau, 2022). Neoliberal practices of multi-level migration management were implemented, aimed at curbing and surging migration (Ambrosini, 2021;Pianezzi et al, 2021).…”

“…During the migration crisis in Europe in 2015, it was diagnosed that the authorities were withdrawing from their duties towards migrants, with NGOs taking over their duties, as well as creating space for commercial economic activities (Kersch & Mishtal, 2016; López‐Sala & Godenau, 2022). Neoliberal practices of multi‐level migration management were implemented, aimed at curbing and surging migration (Ambrosini, 2021; Pianezzi et al, 2021). Here, private companies were involved in migration control, migrant selection and border security, while NGOs focus on assisting migrants who were denied the required support by municipal and state institutions.…”

The fate of accounting for public governance development

“…migration, populism, financial crisis, austerity, corruption, wars, earthquakes, pandemics and other natural disasters) show the need to pursue democratic and social values, besides the well-established rational view of establishing efficient and effective practices (Sargiacomo et al. , 2014; Pianezzi et al. , 2022).…”

“…Second, while digitalisation is claimed to be the future of smart and open governments, risks and uncertainties (e.g. migration, populism, financial crisis, austerity, corruption, wars, earthquakes, pandemics and other natural disasters) show the need to pursue democratic and social values, besides the well-established rational view of establishing efficient and effective practices (Sargiacomo et al, 2014;Pianezzi et al, 2022). Third, the three forms of public governance identified earlier should not each be considered in isolation but, rather, as intertwined and interdependent.…”

The dissipation of corporate accountability: Deaths of the elderly in for-profit care homes during the coronavirus pandemic

“…Finally, this paper contributes to research on the relationship between accounting and those who are rendered vulnerable ( Burns & Jollands, 2020 ) by social, economic, and political processes of exclusion. This diverse body of research examines how accounting and auditing affect persons with disabilities ( Duff and Ferguson, 2007 , Duff and Ferguson, 2011a , Duff and Ferguson, 2011b , Nikidehaghani et al, 2021 ), refugees ( Agyemang, 2016 , Agyemang and Lehman, 2013 , Frey-Heger and Barrett, 2021 , Gilbert, 2021 , Pianezzi et al, 2022 , Sargiacomo and Walker, 2022 ), and those who are homeless ( Cooper, Graham, & Himick, 2016 ). Like Twyford (2022) in the Australian context and Wällstedt (2020) in the Swedish, this article on Canada extends a still-slender branch of accounting research in the field of elder care that goes back at least as far as Preston, Chua, and Neu (1997) .…”