Social Integration Policy Research Articles

Examining the Role of Social Capital and Socioeconomic Status on Anti-Foreigner Sentiment in South Korea

South Korean society is becoming incredibly and rapidly diverse through increasing inbound immigration. This has recently been highlighted due to low birth rate trends among South Koreans. While the number of foreigners is increasing in South Korea, there have been limited studies on the social integration of these foreigners as well as public attitudes towards them. In this study, we apply the group threat model and focus on how social capital and socioeconomic status are associated with anti-foreigner sentiments. Analyses of data from the 2022 citizen survey conducted in South Korea suggest that both factors are partially related to anti-foreigner sentiment at the structural and individual levels. Through this study, we contribute to the understanding of public attitudes towards foreigners and suggest careful approaches in social integration policy design.

Experiences of Youth in Transition to Adulthood: the Models Developed in Base of Generation and Gender Survey

Understanding the specificities and patterns of transition to adulthood and timing of young adults' milestones is essential for developing targeted and effective social integration policies that address the needs and vulnerabilities of youth subcategories. The aim of the paper is to develop a typology of transition models within the specific context of Moldova by classifying different pathways that young people follow during the transition into adulthood. This study uses the data from Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) conducted in Moldova in 2020. Pathways are derived from key life events that mark the transition to adulthood, retrospectively observed for young people 25-35 years old (N = 2540). To explore the different patterns of transitions Two-Step Cluster analysis was used. This exploratory model is relevant for creating typologies and processing both continuous and categorical variables. The analysis identifies four main clusters of transition to adulthood, showing variations between them. The “complex transition” cluster describes young people who experience a smoother transition to adulthood, characterized by a higher level of education followed by stable employment opportunities, while demographic events such as marriage and parenthood occur later in this group. The “uncertain transition” cluster reflects a degree of instability and uncertainty in terms of employment, many young people, especially men, are employed temporarily or informally, while women in this cluster are often on maternity or childcare leave without being employed. The “precarious transition” cluster represents inactive young people in the labor market, most of them having a low level of education, contributing to their precarious situation on the labor market. The “early transition” cluster suggests a pattern of early transitions into adulthood, often accompanied by limited educational attainment and early family formation.

The Contribution of Immigrants to Urban Economies: Exploring Citizens' Opinions in Athens, Greece

Migration processes pose important social problems and demand appropriate integration policies. With this perspective in mind, the present study investigates native residents’ opinion on the contribution of immigrants to urban economy in Athens, Greece, using a self-reported questionnaire submitted to a convenience sample of 446 native residents 18+ years old. In spite of the current economic crisis, mixed responses were recorded about the extent Greek government should allow new immigrants to come, live and work in the country. Conversely, citizens’ opinions were rather homogeneous and negative when speaking about the state benefits granted to immigrants. Respondents who believe that, in the near future, a high (and possibly increasing) number of immigrants should be allowed to live, and work in Greece, demonstrated to be fully aware of the importance of integration policies. By contrast, in line with the ‘secular’ role of families permeating the Greek society, married people were more inclined to refuse any policy of immigrants’ integration compared to single people. Future research should emphasize how institutions, national/local policies, and contextual aspects including ethnic networks, social capital, and labor market conditions, may influence immigrant integration in traditional, Mediterranean societies.

Re-Examining the Use of Inclusive Society as a Solution to Social Inequalities: It’s Time we Address the Elephants in the House

Social inclusion is one of the many social constructs of contemporary governments’ social integration policy. This paper critically analysed the policy goals of an inclusive society by examining the socioeconomic and politico-cultural milieus in which governments implement this policy. With references to the United States’ Affirmative Action and Canada’s Multiculturalism, one can infer that disadvantaged individuals, groups, or communities are neither included nor empowered through the processes of social inclusion. Consequently, this paper concluded that the process of social inclusion cannot lead to effective social integration, given the stagnant socio-economic and politico-cultural environments in which government implements this policy. Instead, most social inclusion programs have become the tools for forced social cohesion with minimal policy objectives to integrate disadvantaged individuals into mainstream society. In summary, social inclusion is a politically correct opiate that is being used to sedate socially excluded individuals or underprivileged communities until they disappear into obscurity.
 
 Received: 4 January 2023 / Accepted: 26 February 2023 / Published: 6 March 2023

Migrating up the World City Hierarchy: Seoul as a World City of ‘Transfer’ for the Latin American Creative Class

This paper focuses on the world city of Seoul as an alternative, temporary destination for creative class migrants from Latin America. The creative class is a concept developed by Richard Florida to describe, "creative individuals whose economic function is to create new ideas, technology and/or creative content." In this research, world city of ‘transfer’ refers to world cities ranked by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) that are of high middle (Alpha) to lower ranking and that become ‘temporary stops’ for the migrating creative classes, whose ultimate destinations are the Alpha+ and Alpha++ world cities. This research namely asks: (1) From the perspective of creative migrants from developing countries, what causes them to leave world ‘transfer’ cities, such as Seoul, and not settle there long term? and (2) What kind of policies can be applied to help creative migrants stay in these cities permanently? Social integration policies should be implemented when trying to further develop a world city’s quality of place. Qualitative research methods such as in-depth interviews with Latin American creative people were employed to demonstrate Seoul’s need for social integration policies aimed at retaining global talent and not just attracting it.

Priority setting for 2050 future images and policy agendas of the Republic of Korea: engaging the national assembly

PurposeThis study aims to identify and prioritize preferable 2050 future images and the policy agendas of the Republic of Korea using a bottom-up approach, involving legislative staff of the National Assembly as well as experts from various fields.Design/methodology/approachThe authors derived three future images from the future policy agendas selected by experts: society for growth of smart generations (GS), society for sustainability and safety (SS) and society for coexistence and diversity (CD). The survey conducted among legislative staff (n = 189) shows that the most preferred future image was SS. Then, the authors prioritized the policy agendas that aligned with future images using priority calculating methods.FindingsThe most prioritized policy agenda was “Social system for coexistence to resolve social conflict,” followed by “Social sustainability through tackling low birth rate.” The next was “Social integration policies to embrace diverse family composition” and “Responding to social change and knowledge transformation caused by artificial intelligence.” Among the top five rankings, two agendas from each SS and CD were selected.Practical implicationsTo achieve the preferred future images, implementing policies related to sustainability, human rights and coexistence are necessary for continuous collaboration among stakeholders, especially those from the legislature.Originality/valueThis study presents a method of involving the National Assembly, which is a representative institution of the people and composed of various political parties, to set the national’s future vision and agenda from a long-term perspective.

Analysis of Social Integration through Inspection Policy

This paper applies the inspection policy in reliability theory to social integrations. As a result of shortage of labor forces due to the declining birthrate, many developed countries are increasingly accepting immigrants. However, it has been shown that the acceptance of immigrants increases anti-immigrant sentiment among host citizens and leads to large-scale riots. While social integration policies such as language education for new immigrants and support for labor market can reduce anti-immigrant sentiment, they need high costs. It is necessary to detect the anti-immigrant sentiment based on regular public polls and implement social integration. However, there is no empirical study that proposes the expected costs until the anti-immigrant sentiment is detected and discuss the optimal checking times which minimize them. We formulate three stochastic models, replacing inspection of units with check of the social structure such as people’s feelings for immigrants and failure with riot. This paper proposes extended stochastic models of social structures considering the suppression of a riot. We obtain the expected costs until a riot ends and discuss optimal checking times which minimize them analytically and numerically. These methods used in this paper could be applied to some social problems occurred in the world.

Book Review - Dejan Valentinčič, Medetnična integracija v lokalnem okolju. Primer Nove Gorice in Gorice Gorizia: Zadruga Goriška Mohorjeva and Inštitut ASEF za izobraževanje in raziskovanje, 2021, 413 pp.

A couple of years ago, I tried to collect information about the ethnic policies in South-Eastern Europe for university teaching. Slovenian colleagues were very cooperative and supplied me with rich information about the social integration policies concerning Roma. This information was enough for resolving the tasks I had at that time. However, step by step, I learned more about the ethnic composition and interethnic relations in Slovenian society. I was struck by the fact that the ethnic picture there was much more complex and complicated than the single case of the Roma minority. In addition, I received a lot of information about Slovenian ethnic minorities in the neighboring countries.

Divergent we fall: The challenges for welfare state - Social integration and unemployment policies in the Visegrad Countries

AbstractThis article examines the unemployment policy of Central-East-European countries applying mixed methods. First, fuzzy set analysis is used to determine the efficiency of unemployment measures for reducing the poverty gap. Three causal conditions are measured: the net replacement rate of unemployment benefits, labour law regulations related to job security, and public spending on labour-market programs. This analysis reveals two possible pathways: governments may either provide a high level of job security, or spend on active and passive labour-market measures. Second, the fuzzy set analysis was completed with a comparative legal analysis covering the Visegrad countries that examined the policy choices the Visegrad countries made after the economic crisis. The paper argues that due to the different approaches to the welfare state, any potential EU initiatives for regulating unemployment benefits under the European Pillar of Social Rights might put divergent adaptation pressure on the V4 states. The differences are significant, as they would not only challenge effective social integration but also hamper the envisioned political cooperation of the V4 countries in this policy area. Building on previous literature, this paper is written to contribute to research on the European Social Model and social integration within the European Union.

A Study on the Diversity of Local Tombs in the Hanseong Period and Baekje’s Social Integration Policy: Focusing on Factors and Cases of Friendly Takeover

A Study on the Diversity of Local Tombs in the Hanseong Period and Baekje’s Social Integration Policy: Focusing on Factors and Cases of Friendly Takeover

Does social integration matter for cohort differences in the political participation of internal migrants in China?

AbstractUsing nationally representative data from the 2017 National Internal Migrants Dynamic Monitoring Survey, this paper examines the nexus between social integration and the political participation of internal migrants in China. We document a positive association between social integration status and internal migrants’ political participation. The study further examines the political participation differentials from two perspectives: between migration types and between migration distances. Our Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition analysis suggests that while only about 5.2% of the political participation differential between urban‐to‐urban migrants and rural‐to‐urban migrants is attributable to the difference in social integration status, the difference in social integration status explains about 12.0% of the participation gap between intra‐provincial migrants and inter‐provincial migrants. Our findings suggest that regionally diverse social integration policies may have unintended consequences for the political participation of migrant workers in China.

Public opinion polarization on immigration in Italy: the role of traditional and digital news media practices

ABSTRACT Public opinion polarization on immigration can hinder social cohesion, integration policies and economic growth. Political campaigns and partisan news media systems have long been investigated in terms of potential drivers of mass polarization, often through a focus on one news media. Utilizing survey data collected by the Pew Research Center, the purpose of the present study is twofold: first, to provide insight into the state of polarization of the Italian public on immigrants-related issues during the campaign for 2018 General Elections, that is, in a context of increasing struggle on immigration between political elites and partisan news media; second, to analyze whether and how the frequency of use of traditional and digital news media and/or the political similarity of (online and offline) information networks have affected the probability of Italian citizens having polarized opinions on immigration. This study shows no significant divergences in the Italian public opinion toward extreme positions, but provide evidence of one-side extremism and alignment along two irreconcilable views. Furthermore, findings indicate deep differences in the effects of traditional and digital news media practices on individuals’ extreme and aligned positions on immigration. When various news media are considered, the effect of television is always the more robust.

Exploring night and day socio-spatial segregation based on mobile phone data: The case of Medellin (Colombia)

Social segregation research has a long tradition in urban studies. Usually, these studies focus on the residential dimension, using official registries (e.g., census data), which show population distribution at night. Nevertheless, these studies disregard the fact that the population in cities is highly mobile, and its spatial distribution dramatically changes between night and day. The emergence of new data sources (Big Data) creates perfect conditions to consider segregation as a process, by providing the opportunity to dynamically analyse temporal changes in social segregation.This study uses mobile phone data to analyse changes in social segregation between night and day. Our case study is Medellin (Colombia), a highly socially-segregated, South American city, where social integration policies are being developed, targeting the population in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. We use several complementary indicators of social segregation, supplementing them with mobility indicators that help explain changes in spatial segregation between night and day.The main conclusion is that daily mobility reduces the concentration of a particular group within neighbourhoods and increases the degree of social mixing (exposure) in local settings. This greater social exposure softens local contrasts (outliers) and increases the extension of spatial clusters (positive spatial autocorrelation), so general clustering trends emerge more clearly. The study also makes clear that increased exposure during the day mainly occurs due to the mobility of the low-income population, who are the most likely to leave their neighbourhood during the day and who travel the greatest distances to the most diverse set of destinations.

Perceived Readiness of Educated Youth towards Ethnic Integration in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic society hence the ethnic integration has been a hot topic for decades. By 2021, it has been 73 years after the independence from British empires, however, natives still struggle for the reconciliation among themselves. Often occurred ethnic clashes usually account for a huge social and economic cost. Various scholars have highlighted that youth is highly active in initiating ethnic clashes. And, it is quoted specifically for the ‘Educated youth’ in Sri Lankan context. Therefore, this study explores the perceptions of ‘multi-ethnic, educated youth’ in heightening ethnic integration in Sri Lanka. This study utilized quantitative research approach and survey method. Primary data was mainly used for the study and collected through an online questionnaire. 100 multi-ethnic youth who are studying in higher education institutions in Sri Lanka selected as the sample using random sampling technique. The readiness of respondents was basically measured through their perceptions with respect to the social integration model proposed by Awang et al (2019). Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing data. The results showed that the overall readiness of educated youth in promoting ethnic integration is high in Sri Lankan context. The respondents are almost ready for the social acceptance and cultural appreciation levels of the model. However, they have showed, relatively a slight attraction towards compromisation and adaptation levels for which a high degree of ethnic tolerance is required. Therefore, it can be concluded that the majority of educated youth are social extroverts and are aware the importance of integration. However, since they showed a little attraction towards the upper layers of integration pyramid, there is a need of re-evaluating existing social integration policies. So that, some policy recommendations are suggested to enhance more operational activities in reconciliation process to reach the upper levels of ethnic integration (compromization and adaptation) in Sri Lankan context.

Directions for the Korean Social INTEGRATION Policy Index Development

Purpose: As South Korea enters a multicultural society, the importance of a reasonable and effective social integration policy system has been emphasized. The evaluation of social integration policies can promote policy improvement and improve policy effects. The purpose of this study is to analyze the limitations of the applica-tion of MIPEX in the evaluation of the Korean social integration policy and to give suggestions about the devel-oping direction of South Korea s social integration policy index. Method: This study starts with the MIPEX’s analysis of South Korea to understands the advantages and dis-advantages of Korean immigrant social integration policy. On the other hand, there are certain limits in MI-PEX’s evaluation and practical application in South Korea, so by observation and analysis of MIPEX and com-parison of integration policies of South Korea and other countries, suggestions are made for the development of a social integration policy index that meets the conditions of South Korea. Results: Although South Korea’s immigrant social integration policy is in a leading position in Asia especially in multicultural education area but compared to the Top countries in MIPEX, some improvement still need to be made. It was showing a trend of regression with increased difficulty in obtaining permanent residency. MIPEX s completely Europe-centered evaluation standards, ignoring illegal immigrants and only focusing on legal immi-grants, and ignoring the actual implementation of policies are all reasons for its limitations of application in South Korea. Conclusion: It is necessary to consider the conditions of South Korea and formulate policy indicators that conform to the society during the development of the Korean social integration policy index. The targets of the social integration policy should include all immigrants, and the actual implementation of the policy should be reflected in the evaluation. According to the specific conditions of the country, citizen participation, gender equality, and social security are policy elements that can be added to the index.

카스트 기반 사회통합정책에 대한 인도 대학생의 지지 유형화와 유형별 특성 분석

카스트 기반 사회통합정책에 대한 인도 대학생의 지지 유형화와 유형별 특성 분석

Analysis on the Development Process of Korean Social Integration Policies Viewed in Multiculturalism

본 연구는 지금 한국은 매년 결혼이주여성을 비롯한 외국인 근로자들이 증가하면서 다양한 배경을 가진 이주민의 다양성을 어떻게 관리하고 국가적 통합을 유지해 갈 것인가의 문제는 정부의 중요한 정책 과제가 되고 있다. 이에 정부는 다양한 법ㆍ제도를 마련하여 내국인과 이주민의 사회적 갈등을 예방하고 최소화하기 위해 적극적으로 다문화사회통합정책을 주도하고 있다. 본 논문에서는 문헌연구 방법론을 활용하여 한국의 다문화와 연관된 사회통합을 위한 법과 정책을 살펴보고, 사회통합 관련 법과 정책의 발달과정을 통해 다문화주의의 이념 경로를 도출하고자 한다. 분석 결과, 한국의 사회통합정책은 몰문화주의적 다문화주의, 초문화주의적 다문화주의, 동화주의적 다문화주의, 초기단계의 다원주의적 다문화주의의 이동 경로를 밝아 온 것으로 확인되었다. 이를 토대로 한국의 사회통합 정책의 근간이 될 이념의 지향성에 대한 숙의와 합의점을 마련할 제언을 제시하였다.With the continuous increase of foreign workers including married immigrant women every year in Korea, the issue of how to manage the diversity of immigrants with diverse backgrounds and also to maintain the national integration becomes an important policy agenda of the government. Thus, in order to prevent and minimize social conflicts between citizens and immigrants, the government is actively leading the multicultural social integration policies by establishing various laws and systems. This thesis aims to examine laws and policies for social integration related to multiculture of Korea by utilizing the literature review methodology, and also to draw the ideological path of multiculturalism in the development process. In the results of analysis, the Korean social integration policies viewed in multiculturalism were developed from molecultural multiculturalism, transcultural multiculturalism, into the multiculturalism natured by assimilatism and pluralism in order. Based on this, this thesis presented the suggestions for establishing the deliberations and agreements for the ideological orientation that could become the basis of Korean social integration policies.

Does acculturation really matter for internal migrants’ health?Evidence from eight cities in China

It is widely recognized that China has experienced the largest internal migration in its history and that these internal migrants are largely excluded from urban services, posing major challenges to their health outcomes. This paper attempts to address this issue from a socio-ecological lens, examining John W. Berry's conceptual framework of acculturation on internal migrants' health in China. We employed the National Migrant Dynamic Monitoring Survey (MDMS; 2014) data, with around 16,000 samples from eight cities. Our results showed that compared to their hometown culture, where migrants can successfully integrate into the mainstream culture of the destination area, mental health stress can be prevented and self-assessed health status is improved. Well-integrated migrants showed the best self-reported health (SRH) and mental health status, while segregated or marginalized migrants received lower health scores. It was interesting to see that the origin culture only protected SRH whereas the local culture could promote both mental health and SRH. This evidence may be alarming. Local government must respect origin cultures when carrying out social integration policy. In addition, macro-migration policies should encourage local mobility within the same cultural areas to minimize the negative effects of migration.

외국인근로자 사회통합정책 공공가치 요인에 관한 탐색적 연구 : 조직시민행동, 조직몰입, 제도신뢰, 비전공유를 중심으로

본 연구는 정책 공정성 변수인 제도신뢰와, 조직 내 근로환경의 주요 변수인 비전공유, 조직몰입, 조직시민행 동 요인들 간의 영향관계 분석을 통해 외국인근로자 사회통합 공공가치 창출을 위한 정책 시사점을 구하는 데 그 목적이 있다. 본 연구를 통해 향후 조직이 추구해야 할 운영 방식을 확인하고 더 나아가 정부 정책 방향에 도움을 주고자 하였다. 연구 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫 번째 ‘조직몰입은 배려적 행동에 유의한 영향을 미칠 것이다’는 채 택되었다. 두 번째 ‘제도신뢰는 조직몰입에 유의한 영향을 미칠 것이다’는 기각되었다. 세 번째 ‘제도신뢰는 배려 적 행동에 유의한 영향을 미칠 것이다’는 채택되었다. 네 번째 ‘비전공유는 조직몰입에 유의한 영향을 미칠 것이 다’는 기각되었다. 다섯 번째 ‘비전공유는 배려적 행동에 유의한 영향을 미칠 것이다’는 기각되었다. 이상의 분석 결과에 따른 정책 시사점은 다음과 같다. 첫째, 외국인근로자의 조직몰입도를 높일 수 있도록 고용정책 개선이 필요하다. 외국인근로자 사회통합의 공공가치 창출을 위해서는 배려적 행동에 영향을 주는 것으로 확인된 조직 몰입 수준을 높일 수 있도록 제도개선이 요구된다. 따라서 외국인력 도입을 관장하는 관련 부처 공무원들은 이민 정책과의 연계가능성을 고려한 제도 운영과 협력에 관심을 기울여야 한다. 둘째, 외국인근로자 사회통합 수준을 높이려면 정책 공정성 및 제도에 대한 신뢰도를 높여야 한다. 정부는 정책 설계와 도입단계에서 개인의 능력과 노력을 최대한 반영함으로써 공정성을 확보할 수 있는 정책을 수립하고 제도신뢰를 제고할 수 있도록 이를 지속 적으로 추진해 나갈 필요가 있다. 셋째, 민간 조직이 외국인근로자의 비전공유, 조직몰입 등에도 관심을 가지도 록 고용환경을 조성하여야 한다. 외국인근로자 사회통합에 요구되는 공공가치의 창출은 구성원으로서 이행해야 할 의무와 권리인정을 연계함으로써 가능하다.

IDPs in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI): Intractable Return and Absence of Social Integration Policy

AbstractThis paper examines the protracted nature of displacement in the Iraqi context and places emphasis on the need for a social integration policy to bridge the deep cleavages of Iraqi society. Methodologically, the paper utilizes qualitative data by conducting focus‐group discussions with IDPs and semi‐structured individual interviews in KRI. In terms of return possibilities, while return in many ways is perceived to be not practical and to involve future risks, research findings show that a community‐based distinction needs to be made between IDPs from minority backgrounds and IDPs who belong to demographic majorities in the homeland locations. A second distinction is a geographic and political one as findings indicate that IDPs who take refuge in KRI, though remain largely dissatisfied with displacement conditions, are willing to stay in KRI longer in the hope of further security and reconstruction process in the violence‐affected areas. With respect to social integration policy, the paper outlines institutional, political and cultural explanations for a virtually absolute absence of social integration policy on national and regional levels. The paper suggests that the proposed social integration policy can capitalize practical implications of Social Contact Theory (SCT) in enhancing the integration of IDPs in the host communities.