Daniel Hiebert

1
Swedish immigration policy and politics A window
on Europe

• Daniel Hiebert
• Metropolis British Columbia, and
• University of British Columbia

2
Outline

• Context the demographic challenge
• Basic facts about Sweden and Swedish politics
• Swedish migration and integration policy and
  administration
• Possible changes to migration and integration
  policy
• The lessons of Sweden

3
Context

• The demographic challenge of below-replacement
  fertility general responses
• Ignore the problem (e.g., Italy)
• Increase net migration (e.g., Canada)
• Raise productivity and elongate working careers
  (e.g., Japan)
• Restore fertility (e.g., Sweden)

4
Sweden some basic facts

• Population gt 9 million
• Size roughly equivalent to Québec
• Government elected by modified proportional
  representation
• Complex and flexible system with several quirks
• Current government right-centre coalition led by
  the Moderate Party (conservative)
• Next election September 2010

5
Immigrants in Sweden

• Total population gt 1 million (12.5)
• Recent flows 100,000 per year
• Top source countries (1990-2007)
• Finland
• Former Yugoslavia
• Iraq
• Iran
• Poland
• Norway
• Denmark
• Germany
• Turkey
• Chile

6
Swedish politics

• Popular opinion evenly divided
• Right-centre group (49 in latest poll)
• Pink-red-green group (44)
• Wild card Sweden Democrats (populist party)
• 4 rule (currently 4.5 in polls)
• Anti-immigration policy intention to dismantle
  multiculturalism and offer incentives to either
  assimilate or leave Sweden recently expelled
  vocal racists from party irony surprisingly
  strong immigrant presence in party

7
Popular opinion on migration

• Not as troubled as other European countries
• Critical dividing point is on the asylum system
• Negative side concern over bogus refugees and
  enclaves, parallel lives
• Positive side support for humanitarian policies
  including asylum
• Complex relationship to party politics (e.g.,
  Social Democrats)

8
Swedish immigration policy

• EU migration open borders, unplanned,
  unregulated, invisible immigrants
• Open Labour Market but not social support
• Mentality of Sweden as part of Europe
• Non-EU migration permanent immigration is
  dominated by family reunification and asylum
  (mostly from Islamic countries) (nearly 90 of
  total)
• Mentality of immigration as a gift to outsiders
  who are victims (public debate is about asylum
  and ethical issues)
• Very different from Canada

9
Admission systems

• Humanitarian
• Resettlement program (2000 annually)
• NO TRANSPORTATION LOANS
• As in Canada, resettlement location is assigned
• Asylum system
• Similar institution to IRB
• Family
• Sponsorship requirement similar to Canada
• Economic
• Stepwise, employment driven

10
Integration in Sweden

• Swedish society defined by
• Affluence
• Welfare state with an ethic of redistribution
• Goal of gender equality
• Transparency of the state and the private sphere
• Widely shared cultural norms
• Asylum migration (especially from Islamic
  countries) is popularly interpreted as a
  potential challenge to these core values
• Frequent statements by Sweden Democrats reinforce
  these views

11
Managing Swedish migration and integration

• National government
• Ministry of Justice includes Minister for
  Migration and Asylum policy (Tobias Billström)
• Ministry of Integration and Gender Equity (Nyamko
  Sabuni)
• Establishes integration policy, standards and
  provides funding
• Ministry of Employment (LM issues and employment
  assistance) (T. Billström, as of 7 July!)
• Regional government Negligible role
• Municipal government Key role
• Develops and administers most programs
• Adult education
• Social work and counselling
• Social housing
• Some examples of inter-government cooperation
• Negligible role for NGOs and other partners

12
Newcomer perspective on services

• All employment related services Ministry of
  Employment
• Labour offices distributed throughout Sweden
• All other services Municipal government
• Fairly coherent and consistent package across
  jurisdictions
• But, inevitable scale differences
• Connection (through municipality) to education,
  housing, social welfare

13
Special case of asylum

• Similar to Canada, but some key differences
• With temporary humanitarian visa, there is an
  offer of housing (ABO vs. EBO)
• Context of social housing
• Self-housed asylum seekers live in large cities
• State-housed live in periphery
• Municipalities have a choice to participate
• Interesting connection between asylum and funding
  for municipalities
• Economic outcomes
• Recently, asylum seekers entitled to work permits
• But exceptionally low employment rates

14
Changing migration policy

• As in Canada, parties are not very far apart but
  there are some significant differences
• Left alliance SDs determined to disperse
  immigrants and refugees (we will not let
  refugees live where they choose)
• Right alliance determined to raise economic
  immigration
• Not through open-ended system like Canada
• By opening existing employer-driven system of
  stepwise immigration actively planning and
  building pathways
• Cautious approach with input from org. labour

15
Changing integration policy

• Sweeping change planned for December, 2010, if
  Moderate party is still in power
• Sense of failed outcomes in refugee and family
  integration
• Process of recentralization
• Areas of municipal responsibility will be shifted
  to the national Ministry of Employment
• Focus will be on preparation for employment, with
  stronger incentives to work (e.g., bonuses)
• Core indicator of success will be acquisition of
  a job
• Aside EU defined integration measures for all
  states to use in 2009 (Sweden led this
  initiative)
• Dominated by employment, income, education

16
New European integration indicators

• Employment (standard measures)
• Education
• Average educational attainment
• low-achieving 15-year olds
• Drop-out rates
• Social inclusion
• Median income low income
• property ownership
• perceiving health status as poor
• Active citizenship
• citizenship acquisition
• immigrants among elected representatives

17
Perspective of the newcomer

• One-stop shopping for services
• Plan is for personal coach for each newcomer
• Unclear whether the left coalition would support
  this but unlikely
• Municipal governments will resist change

18
Aside on data

• How does the Swedish government monitor outcomes?
• Population register data system all records
  linked for individuals
• Widely available to researchers
• (note there is no census)
• Excellent hard, longitudinal data poor soft
  data

19
Challenges of the Swedish system

• Dominance of high-need asylum newcomers
• Regionalization through housing policy
• Unsatisfactory economic outcomes
• Perceived ghettoization in larger cities
• E.g., riots in Malmoe in June, 2009
• Potential for hostile public debate
• Limits policy development
• General lack of policy-research interface
• Socially, immigration is eclipsed in importance
  by focus on fertility and reproduction

20
The lessons of Sweden

• Policy evolution does not necessarily only go in
  one direction
• Policy cycle devolution and then reconcentration
• Excellent data helps in evaluating program
  outcomes
• Swedish population registry is a 100 data system
• Widely available in government and to academic
  researchers
• Surprising outcomes (e.g., housing of asylum
  seekers)

21
Sweden as Europe light

• Sweden has all the debates of Europe, but less of
  the acrimony
• Migration issues muted by demography no sense of
  urgency
• Also muted by tradition of social democracy and
  the welfare state
• Unfortunately, the less rancorous debates in
  Sweden are unlikely to influence other European
  countries
• Strong interest in Canada on the part of Swedes
• Potential for new debates as employers become
  more prominent in the immigration system