Mainstreaming immigrant integration in Labour Market Support: policy index and alternative policy frameworks

Abstract

ABSTRACT In many Western European countries, governments have increasingly accepted the strategies of enhancing equality between immigrants and EU nationals in major policy domains. One of the latest trends in integration policy framework is mainstreaming – the practice of bringing the needs and priorities of vulnerable groups such as immigrants to the centre of attention in more generic policies (e.g. employment support, education) as opposed to responding to the specific concerns of these groups through separate policy interventions. To examine and categorise the scope of mainstreaming and the level of access to mainstreamed policies for various groups of immigrants, I develop a Policy Index of Mainstreaming in Labour Market Support that covers data from 2006 to 2016 across 25 EU/EEA countries. The paper explores the policy patterns revealed by the Index. It argues that while mainstreaming as a theory challenges existing integration approaches, differences in political ideology do not necessarily lead to radical institutional change. This finding contributes to the historical-institutionalist argument on policy compatibility through institutional change mechanisms.