Europe's Immigration Challenge: Reconciling Work, Welfare and Mobility(Policy Network)

As the financial crisis continues to cast its long shadow over Europe, the view that immigrants compete unfairly for jobs and present an unsustainable burden on the European Social Model appears to be gathering support in some circles. But at the same time, the 'right' type of immigrant has often been perceived as a potential cure for Europe's sluggish labour markets and ailing welfare systems - especially immigrants who are young, easily employable and who arrive without family. So far, efforts to solve this conundrum - as in the UK's points-based system - have focused on increasing the selectivity of the admissions process. In this book, leading immigration experts question the effectiveness of this approach. Besides efforts to regulate the flow and rights of immigrants, they argue that governments across Europe need to devise labour market, welfare and immigration policies in a more integrated fashion.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1: Immigration, work and welfare: a dynamic relationship by Grete Brochmann, University of Oslo and Elena Jurado, Policy Network PART 1: In search of the “useful” immigrant: mission impossible? 2: The limitations of selective immigration policies by Elizabeth Collett, Migration Policy Institute 3: Is intra-EU mobility creating a “race to the bottom”? by Jon Kvist, University of Southern Denmark 4: Refugee protection and the sustainability of the European Social Model by Jill Rutter, former Head of Policy at Refugee and Migrant Justice 5: Squaring the circle: Immigration, “differential entitlements” and social cohesion by Peter Dwyer, Nottingham Trent University PART 2: Immigration and job-creation: creating a virtuous circle 6: Employment protection, flexible labour markets and job displacement by Rainer Münz, Erste Bank in Vienna / Hamburg Institute of International Economics 7: Up-skilling or out-skilling? Migrant labour and the drive to transform Europe into a knowledge-based economy by Martin Ruhs, University of Oxford / UK Migration Advisory Committee 8: Trade Unions, immigration and internationalization: new challenges and changing coalitions by Leah Haus, Vassar College 9: Into the black hole: Immigration and Europe’s underground economy by Ferruccio Pastore, Centre for the Study of International Politics PART 3: Boon or burden: immigration and welfare reform in Europe 9: Which card have you been dealt? Immigration and the future of European benefit systems by Diane Sainsbury, Stockholm University 10: In sickness and in health: the role of immigration in European healthcare systems by Michael Stolpe, Kiel Institute for the World Economy 11: Is migrant labour an opportunity or an obstacle to reforming pension systems in Europe? By Ann Morissens, University of Twente 12: Immigration and public housing: stretching the limits of European solidarity? By Stephen Mangen, London School of Economics PART 4: Towards an integrated approach 13: Follow my lead: the role of politics in shaping the debate on immigration by Shamit Saggar, University of Sussex 14. Unexpected allies: linking immigration, welfare and labour market reform by Liam Byrne MP 15. Is ‘more Europe’ the answer? How the EU can help states coordinate their immigration and social policies by Andrew Geddes, University of Sheffield

About the Author :
Elena Jurado is Senior Consultant at ICF GHK, an international research consultancy. Between 2007 and 2011, she was Head of Research at Policy Network, where she led work programmes on labour migration and the future of European social models. Previously, she worked in the minorities unit of the Council of Europe and as a Politics lecturer at the University of Oxford. Grete Brochmann is Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo. She has served as a visiting scholar in Brussels, Berkeley and Boston, and in 2002 she held the Willy Brandt Guest Professorship in Malmo, Sweden. She was recently head of a governmental commission on International Migration and the Norwegian Welfare Model.