nccr – on the move

In recent decades, we have witnessed the diffusion of policy diffusion studies across many sub-disciplines of political science. Four mechanisms of policy diffusion—learning, competition, emulation and coercion—have become widely accepted as explanations for how policymaking processes and policy outcomes in one polity influence those in other polities. After pointing to major shortcomings of this inductively gained set of mechanisms, we present a theoretically more coherent typology that draws on key concepts from International Relations and Policy Studies. The four mechanisms we lay down consider rationalist and social constructivist approaches equally and they incorporate symmetric and asymmetric constellations. By further distinguishing between processes confined to one policy field and those arising from links across policy fields, we present a typology of eight theoretically consistent pathways of policy diffusion. Our framework enables the aggregation of knowledge and contributes to conceptual coherence in multi-methods research.

Abstract This chapter provides a general overview of the Migration-Mobility Nexus in Switzerland. Today’s patterns of migration move on a continuum from long-term and permanent to increasingly temporary and fluid. Based on data from the Migration-Mobility Survey and on theoretical and political considerations, it aims at providing a general empirical overview of the migration flows towards Switzerland. First and on a theoretical level, the two paradigmatic lenses of migration research and mobility studies are presented. Second, the transformation of European migration regimes since the 1970s and its effect on the patterns of migration and mobility are discussed. Third, we show how Switzerland, being part of the European Migration Regime in transformation, can be used as a laboratory to understand the changes in and of an advanced post-industrial society. To this end, we provide a short empirical overview of the immigrant population and their living conditions in the country. Fourth, the chapter provides a set of analytical questions that will be addressed throughout this volume – by means of the Migration-Mobility Survey data – and discussed in the concluding chapter.

Abstract Previous research has deepened our understanding of the reasons that both push and pull individuals to leave a place to settle in a new country. However, little is known about individuals who have undertaken multiple international migrations. Based on the Migration-Mobility Survey data, this chapter explores both the migration trajectories and why frequent international movers have arrived in Switzerland. The chapter provides new insights about serial migrants in the European context and contributes to the literature by disentangling the relationships between multiple migrations and individual levels of qualification, origin, family composition, and aspirations to undertake a further migration. This research shows a strong association between level of education and degree of multiple migrations. It also demonstrates an important heterogeneity in migration practices between origins that can be explained not only by individual factors but also by institutional dimensions. In particular, short geographical and cultural distances contribute to reducing the number of international movements. Furthermore, non-EU migrants tend to be particularly mobile and to undertake stepwise trajectories to Switzerland.

Abstract In this chapter, we seek to shed light on the mechanisms of perceived discrimination: Who, among recent immigrants, is more likely to feel discriminated against and report it when asked in a survey? Social scientists typically define discrimination as an observable and unjust difference in the treatment of distinct groups. To personally feel discriminated against, people must be aware of the differential treatment and perceive it as unjust. We show that reporting discrimination when asked in a survey depends substantially upon individual traits, including aspects that shape whether discrimination is accepted and whether immigrants feel attached to the host society. Although respondents report less discrimination if their job situation has improved after migration, people more likely report discrimination when they originate from countries in which the national legislature represents ethnic minority groups relatively well. Earlier difficulties related to the migration process and the lack of supporting networks continue to affect the perception of unfair treatment. Moreover, we show that individuals distinguish to a surprising degree between discrimination in and outside the work environment. For instance, when they are proficient in the local language, respondents often report discrimination in the workplace but not in a public environment. This distinction between discrimination in the workplace and discrimination in public also depends strongly upon the immigrant’s origin. We conclude that contemporary individual-level measures and policy recommendations merely approximate discriminatory patterns; we urge future research to consider factors that affect individual perception of discrimination.

Abstract Today’s patterns of migration move on a continuum from long-term and permanent to increasingly temporary and fluid. In this context, it is central to understand immigrants’ intentions with respect to naturalization and remigration, not least because these intentions summarize the respondent’s attitude towards the migration experience. Using data from the Migration-Mobility Survey, this chapter tests in a multinomial logistic regression the effect of four sets of factors (demographics, transnational ties, feasibility, and integration) on four types of intentions: naturalization, settlement, remigration, and naturalization and remigration in conjunction. The results show that 34% of the recently arrived migrants in Switzerland express naturalization intentions, 34% settlement intentions and 26% remigration intentions. Although the first two types are largely explained by social integration, remigration intentions are determined by a weak labour market and social integration. However, the relationship between the level of integration and immigrants’ intentions is more complex because for 6% of the sample, both remigration and naturalization present an option. Finally, the chapter emphasizes how a high educational attainment fosters the migrant’s agency to choose whatever migratory trajectory they desire to follow, despite the more restrictive migration regime that Switzerland has introduced for non-EU/EFTA nationals.

Abstract This chapter aims at measuring the extent to which the subjective reasons of immigration impact on the level and the pace of structural integration, defined as the participation in the labour market. The analysis not only considers primary migrants but also accompanying spouses and distinguishes between migrants regarding their country of origin and level of education. Based on the Migration-Mobility Survey data, the author uses not only descriptive statistics but also logistic regressions models to better understand the determinants of integration. Results show that migrants consider themselves relatively well integrated in the labour market: in particular, three-quarters of the men and almost two-thirds of the women declare an improvement in their work conditions compared to the situation before the move, their unemployment rate is low, fewer than 20% of migrants do short-term work or work without a contract, and approximately 60% use their skills at work. However, one can observe differences in the level of integration according to the reason for migration. Not only family migrants but also migrants who arrived in Switzerland for other reasons present a lower probability of job satisfaction and a higher risk of underuse of skills compared with those arriving with a work contract. Results also show a gender gap, men being better integrated than women whatever the indicator that is used.

The activities of migrant entrepreneurs increasingly extend beyond national borders as they travel and move goods between countries. Yet, research still portrays a static and homogeneous picture of the phenomenon which disregards complex biographies, evolving along multiple places over time, and cross-border activities beyond the origin and destination country. In response, this article uses a time-geographic and biographic approach which allows for a more dynamic investigation of the different localities involved in migrants’ entrepreneurial projects and the evolution of cross-border resources throughout their history of migration. The presented study is based on ethnographic observations and biographic interviews, including trajectories traced on geographic maps, of 34 migrants with diverse backgrounds in Zurich, Switzerland. Because most research participants have multiple migration experiences and are female, it provides insights into understudied groups within the field. The article introduces a typology of three different kinds of cross-border migrant entrepreneurship. In contrast to the classic literature, it highlights that the cross-border engagement of migrants often transcends the origin–destination binary. Knowledge of economic and institutional environments, professional and intimate contacts, as well as other competences that interviewees have developed within different localities and episodes of their mobile biographies, become important resources in this regard. Moreover, the study offers a nuanced view on the constraints experienced and strategies employed by different groups of migrants according to their position in society.

The notion of residential settlement associated with the acquisition of new citizenship has been recently challenged by a number of studies highlighting its instrumentality as a subsequent mobility factor. The long and diverse history of Switzerland as a country of immigration and the availability of rich data on naturalization and international migration that allow individuals to be followed over time make this country a valuable case for investigating the impact of naturalization on international (return or onward) migration. Using longitudinal data, we follow 88,900 immigrants who entered the country between 1998 and 2000 over a period of 84 months between January 2011 and December 2017, documenting changes in naturalization status and in migratory movements and their direction. Using different implementations of a Cox proportional hazards model, we examine whether and under what conditions the international migration behaviour of naturalized persons differs from that of non-naturalized persons. Our results show that the population accessing naturalization tends to be less mobile, but also that among third-country nationals, naturalization can trigger further international mobility, in particular among those with poor economic performance and with no family ties in Switzerland.

Abstract There is evidence that immigrants experience difficulties in finding a job that matches their human capital endowment upon arrival in the host country. Based on data from the Migration-Mobility Survey 2016, our empirical analysis has two goals. First, it measures the incidence of educational and skills mismatches among different groups of recent immigrants according to their origin and status of foreign credential recognition. Second, it investigates whether the recognition of foreign qualification improves access to the labour market by reducing the risk of being mismatched in education or skills. Results show that recent migrants face the lowest risk of educational and skills mismatches when holding a Swiss diploma or having obtained recognition of foreign credentials. Although our analytical approach does not allow us to identify causal relationships, credential recognition seems to play a beneficial role in the immigrants’ assimilation process.

The evolution of the international refugee regime is ostensibly driven by three ongoing processes: the proliferation of protection frameworks, grow-ing restrictiveness in the Global North, and the liberalization of asylum in the Global South. Insights from the novel SACOP dataset, which provides original information on asylum policies in 195 states from 1951 to 2021, question these widely shared assumptions. Essentially, the data reveals the persistence of non-regulation in refugee protection in North Africa and Asia and highlights the global spread of restrictive policies. These findings oppose the view that the Global North and South are moving in opposite directions regarding refugee protection.

Abstract Research on migration usually focusses on the role of states in defining the “wanted” migrants who receive facilitated access to specific national territories. However, many countries apply a demand-driven admission policy in which employers play a central role in selecting candidates for migration. This article investigates the role of employers in the Migration-Mobility Nexus by analysing the relocation support they provide to different groups of migrants. We use a mixed-method approach based on a qualitative analysis of ethnographic data and a quantitative analysis of the Migration-Mobility Survey to observe who has more power to negotiate advantageous relocation conditions and in this sense represents a more “wanted” migrant for profit-oriented actors. Via a logistic regression model, we show that, all other variables being equal, employers tend to favour highly qualified men from Anglo-Saxon countries, whereas non-single women and people of West African and Portuguese origins have a much lower probability of receiving support from their employer. This article adds to the literature on the construction of migrant categories by showing that highly qualified men from rich Anglo-Saxon countries are actively given the possibility to become “expats”, whereas people with similar levels of qualification and experience but with a different gender, nationality or background have fewer opportunities to access employers’ support and migrate. In this sense, the very notion of “expat” is a construction that reflects power relations at a global level.

Abstract This chapter seeks to answer the question of how resource differentiation influences the forms and aims of migrant engagement, that is, the political participation of recent migrants in Switzerland. More-fluid patterns of mobility highlight the need to observe different approaches to residents’ civic engagement, which are not restricted to the practices of full citizens. We expand the outlook on what counts as a political activity by including acts such as participating in petitions, demonstrations and consumer boycotts. Although these activities are largely no longer considered unconventional, they are usually not considered in research on migrants’ political involvement. Based on an analysis of varied political activities open to any resident of the state, the paper delivers new insights into migrants’ engagement linked to different resources and forms of capital. Previous works have confirmed the influence education provides on political participation of migrant and ethnic minorities. Our results show that higher level of education increases the chances of acting in non-conventional activities, but does not play a role for acting in the representative political sphere. It is rather the time spent in Switzerland and local language skills which matter most for acting in political organizations. By adding migration-specific factors, this paper makes a further contribution to debates on what counts as a political resource. Experiences of international mobility provide the necessary social esteem for migrants to act in non-regulated activities which allow for individualized and direct forms of expression. New, selective and temporary mobility therefore broaden political action repertoires.

Abstract This chapter analyses immigrants’ labour market trajectory throughout their settlement in Switzerland considering their employment situation in the country of origin and the characteristics of the family migration process. The investigation is particularly interested in analysing whether the observed inequalities by origin in the labour market integration result from differences in terms of human capital among immigrants. However, labour disadvantages existing and persisting over time for some immigrant groups, regardless of their human capital characteristics and their level of assimilation in Switzerland, would confirm segmentation and discrimination postulates. Analysis revealed lower employment probabilities for some groups of immigrants immediately after moving to Switzerland once human capital differentials are controlled for. However, results are also consistent with the assimilation hypothesis because the analysis points to an overall improvement in immigrants’ probability of being employed during the process of settlement in Switzerland. Nevertheless, significant differences have emerged by gender. In comparison with men, women are more likely to be unemployed, to be inactive or to work part-time. Finally, results corroborate that post-migration employment is lower for tied migrants and family-motivated migrants. Moreover, family-motivated migration has only temporary effects on labour insertion of male migrants, whereas it harms employment prospects for women more permanently.

In 2021, the Danish Social Democratic government tabled a bill allowing asylum seekers to be transferred to another country to process claims and provide protection.Witnessing a Social Democratic government embracing this highly controversial idea, even though less than a handful of right-wing governments outside Europe had previously outsourced asylum, is puzzling.Policy diffusion theory is used to explain the underlying mechanism and analyse the justification strategies.In the face of public attention focused on the refugee protection crisis between 2014 and 2016, the Social Democrats embraced the idea of externalising asylum in order to be recognised as responsive problem solvers.Essentially, they employed three strategies to justify the policy and to mask its origin and its inconsistency with the party's ideology: (1) referring to policy advisors as the original source of the idea; (2) reframing externalisation as a humanitarian project; and (3) shifting the narrative about Social Democratic identity.

Recent debates in migration studies and labour geographies emphasise the need to acknowledge migrants’ agency and their ability to challenge regulatory migration regimes and precarious working relations. Contributing to this literature, this article examines the activities of a migrant-run organisation in Switzerland in its collective response to labour market barriers mobilised by the state, employers, and society at large. Building on ethnographic and participatory methods, our findings reveal that the organisation’s strategies focus strongly on the individual level and thus risk losing sight of broader power relations. Yet, our analysis also shows that the strategies employed can be transformative on the personal scale, creating a meaningful counterspace to dominant experiences of social and economic exclusion. In conclusion, we contend that an analysis of migratory movements needs to take into account the social and relational dimensions of agency as well as the differentiated effects of collective action.

Data set for paper "Migrant Entrepreneurs as Agents of Development? Geopolitical Context and Transmobility Strategies of Colombian Migrants Returning from Venezuela"

Abstract By confronting and assembling the main results of the previous chapters with respect to the three key dimensions – increasing mobility and transnationality, labour market participation and political and social participation – this concluding chapter discusses the implications for the Migration-Mobility Nexus framework. In addition, the authors address how these results apply to the European context and enumerate their consequences for future research. Overall, the book demonstrated how the implementation of a nationwide survey, such as the Migration-Mobility Survey, contributes to better knowledge about current migration processes and helps identify approaches and policies that can enhance immigrants’ integration when necessary. It is therefore relevant to both the scientific community and migration policy.

Family migration has gained prominence as one of the main reasons for international mobility in both Switzerland and the rest of western European countries. However, research aimed at evaluating the economic performance of reunited families has been constrained by the unavailability of individual income and/or household composition data. The joint use of population registers and information about individuals' social security contributions has allowed us to overcome this limitation. Using transition matrices and logistic models, we assess the economic performance of reunited families at the household level and evaluate differences based on the region of birth of the person initiating the process, as well as the financial situation of these families 5 years after the reunion. The results show a process of economic convergence between the three groups under analysis despite the initial differences in the income level of families, and that most reunited families achieve satisfactory living conditions. They also highlight the hybrid nature of Swiss-headed reunited families, which initially resemble those headed by a non-EU/EFTA person, in terms of the contributions their members make to the household income, but after 5 years they contribute similarly to EU/EFTA headed reunited families.

Data set for paper "Migrant Entrepreneurs as Agents of Development? Geopolitical Context and Transmobility Strategies of Colombian Migrants Returning from Venezuela"