Generous to Workers ≠ Generous to All: Implications of European Unemployment Benefit Systems for the Social Protection of Immigrants

• Published date: 01 August 2021
• Date: 01 August 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0010414021997160
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414021997160

Comparative Political Studies

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DOI: 10.1177/0010414021997160

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Article

Generous to Workers

≠ Generous to All:

Implications of European

Unemployment Benefit

Systems for the Social

Protection of Immigrants

Lutz Gschwind1

Abstract

Record-high levels of international migration both toward and across

Europe have recently given rise to a new body of research on the social

protection of immigrants. A recurring argument in this literature maintains

that migrants are generally more likely to gain access to social benefits in

generous welfare states. The article offers a critical review of this hypothesis

with a focus on unemployment benefit provision. The tides of European

welfare politics have produced a set of systems in the past which are today

highly stratified on the basis of employment. This mechanism generates a

considerable benefit gap in reference to migration, especially for those who

arrived to their country of residency only recently. Empirical analyses with

micro-level data for 14 Western European countries provide supporting

evidence for this argument. The findings indicate a negative relationship

between generosity and social protection which has not been accounted for

in previous research.

Keywords

political economy, social welfare programs, migration, European politics

1Uppsala University, Sweden

Corresponding Author:

Lutz Gschwind, Department of Government, Uppsala University, Gamla Torget 6, Box 514,

Uppsala 75120, Sweden.

Email: lutz.gschwind@statsvet.uu.se

997160

CPSXXX10.1177/0010414021997160Comparative Political StudiesGschwind

research-article2021

2021, Vol. 54(9) 1629 –1652

1630 Comparative Political Studies 54(9)

2 Comparative Political Studies 00(0)

Introduction

Several key developments have, over the past 20 years, propelled Europe into

what de Haas et al. (2020) refer to as the “Age of Migration.” The European

Union (EU) nearly doubled its number of Member States during this time, a

development which opened up the right to free movement for many citizens

living in Central and Eastern Europe. This expansion unfolded in parallel to

the Great Recession (2007–2009) as well as rising tensions in the Middle

East and North Africa, both of which generated an unprecedented increase in

political unrest and economic hardship. All these factors combined led to a

sharp rise in cross-border migration both toward and across the continent.

The total number of foreign-born immigrants1 increased by 40% from an

estimated 56 million in 2000 to roughly 78 million about two decades later

(UN, 2017).

The described surge in migration raises crucial questions about the inclu-

siveness of Europe’s comprehensive social protection systems. Immigrants

might enter a country for various reasons (e.g., family, work, or refuge), but

they all have in common that they arrive to some degree as outsiders to the

social, political, and economic system. This implies that migrants are more

exposed to social risks such as unemployment and poverty which are typi-

cally addressed through public benefits and services in European welfare

states (Hooijer & Picot, 2015; Kogan, 2006). Migration thus emerges as a

new dimension of social stratification which has long been neglected in com-

parative welfare state research (Esping-Andersen, 1990; Korpi & Palme,

1998; Lewis, 1992; Marshall, 1950).

Scholars have only recently begun to address this gap in the literature with

studies that investigate systematically whether and why migrants’ access to

social benefits and services varies across Europe (Carmel et al., 2011; Lafleur

& Vintila, 2020; Sainsbury & Morissens, 2012). Findings of systematic com-

parative analyses indicate that immigrants tend to have better access to social

rights and a lower poverty risk if they live in a country with a comprehensive

welfare state, thus suggesting a positive relationship between benefit gener-

osity and migrants’ access to social protection (Corrigan, 2014; Eugster,

2018; Römer, 2017; Schmitt & Teney, 2018).

The article contributes to this emerging body of comparative research

with a critical review and fresh set of empirical analyses for the proposed

“benefit generosity” hypothesis. It concentrates on the crucial case of unem-

ployment benefit provision for newly arrived immigrants. This choice is

informed by the wealth of literature documenting that labor market partici-

pation rates are found to be particularly low among newcomers across all

forms of entry in countries with developed economies and comprehensive