Studie - ecos

Potenziale und Herausforderungen der Expats-Integration in der Region Basel
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Many expats spend their lives in a parallel English-speaking society, while other expat
networks speak e.g. High German, Spanish, Chinese, Finnish, or Italian. The Swiss Federal
Statistical Office is predicting that Basel-Stadt will attract by far the highest level of international
migration of any canton over the next few years. The Department of Presidential Affairs
of Basel-Stadt expects the majority of these migrants to be expats. In other words, the significance
of the “expat community” will increase further, and regional prosperity will depend to an
ever-greater extent on the willingness and ability of all local bodies, institutions, companies and
people to help these expats settle.
The “Future Workshop” held by the Sozialkonferenz Basel on 15-16 January 2009, entitled
“Global Economy and Sozialkonferenz: Working Together for Social Integration”, showed
that there is currently a degree of segregation between the expat community and the wider Basel
population, a situation that is unsatisfactory for both sides. The Christoph Merian Foundation,
Novartis, Roche and the Canton of Basel-Stadt supported ecos in developing this study, with the
aim of highlighting in particular the social integration potential of expats. The focal point of the
investigation was the question of how expat migrant workers and their families integrate in the
Basel region, and how they can effectively pursue their social interests not only within, but also
outside their working environment. Purely as a result of the meetings and the interactions that
took place as part of this study, the expats issue has become more widely recognized and is now
on the agenda of public discussion.
Building on the results of the Future Workshop, and using a combination of different
methods, this study identifies the potential for and obstacles to better integration of expats in
the Basel region. The different areas of potential are multifaceted, offering opportunities for
both expats and the Basel region at social, economic and commercial levels.
Potentials
All involved parties believe that exchanges and interaction between different cultures make a
positive contribution to shaping and enriching the social fabric of the Basel region. Many expats
who come to Basel with the initial intention of staying for just a short period of time actually
end up staying much longer, thereby giving Basel an international feel. One of the surprising
findings of this investigation was that almost 60% of expats (approximately 20,000 people)
have now lived in Basel for more than four years, and have essentially become “Baslers with a
foreign passport”. Members of this segment of the population, who usually belong to the uppermiddle
economic stratum, are for the most part also willing to actively and in person contribute
to the social development of their adopted second country. However, the experience of these
expats is frequently more one of obstruction than encouragement. With appropriate measures
(see below), this divide can be overcome, to the potential benefit of not only expats themselves
but also the wider Basel region and its institutions.
In economic terms, expats are a relevant factor: They exercise significant purchasing
power, and although a statistical basis is lacking in this respect, it appears likely that every tenth
franc of consumer spending or tax paid (by individuals) comes from an expat household. In
addition, these highly-qualified migrant labourers also ensure that the Basel region enjoys a
“brain gain”. And when expats move on, they act as ambassadors for the Basel region.