Boon or burden? Immigration and reform of ... - Policy Network

Boon or burden? Immigration and reform of European welfare states
London, 13 October 2008
Agenda
12.30-13.30
13.30 Lunch
13.30-15.00
15.00 Session oneo
Do immigrants burden our welfare states? What we think and what we know
This session will critically examine certain prevailing perceptions about the impact
of immigrants on the welfare state in different European countries. What have the
core concerns of European voters been and to what extent are those concerns
justified? Is there evidence to suggest that existing immigration and welfare
policies help to promote, or on the contrary undermine, each other’s objectives?
For example, could immigration policies in certain countries have created welfare
traps for immigrants?
Chair:
Eiko Thielemann, chair of the Migration Unit and senior lecturer in European
politics and policy, the London School of Economics, UK
Presentations:
Michael Fertig, research coordinator for the Reinisch-Westfalisches Insititut für
Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI), Essen, Germany
Disconnected realities: Do Germans mistrust immigrants’ welfare intentions and how
justified are negative perceptions?
Jørgen Goul Andersen, professor of political sociology, Aalborg University,
Denmark
Diversity and the welfare state: Is support for the Danish welfare state being
undermined and to what extent do Danes blame immigrants?
Andrew Geddes, professor of politics and chair of the politics department at the
University of Sheffield, UK
Temporary and agency workers: are immigration policies subverting Britain’s welfare
state?
Discussion

15.00-15.30
15.30 Coffee break
b
15.30 -17.00
Session twot
Getting it right: Immigration and Europe’s reform agenda
Building on evidence from the previous session, the discussion in this session will
focus specifically on the interactions between immigration flows, immigration
policies and efforts to reform Europe’s welfare states. In each European country,
policy-makers are responding to multiple challenges in their efforts to reform their
welfare policies, from ageing populations to skills shortages. In what ways is
immigration, and increased cultural diversity, taken into account in these reforms?
And how might the welfare reforms be adapted in ways which help to maximise
the benefits of immigration for all?
Chair:
Elena Jurado, head of research, Policy Network, UK
Presentations:
Grete Brochmann, research director, Institute for Social Research, Oslo and
professor of sociology at the University of Olso, Norway
A new challenge: How is immigration factored into welfare reform in Scandinavian
countries?
Martin Baldwin-Edwards, co-director of the Mediterranean Migration Observatory,
Panteion University, Athens, Greece, and a research associate of the International
Centre for Migration Policy Development, Vienna, Austria
Making the welfare state work for immigration: experience and implications in
Southern Europe
Grant Fitzner, chief economist and director of analytical services, Department for
Communities and Local Government, UK
Migration policy in transition: the UK experience
Discussion
17.00-18.00
18.00 Drinks reception
Conference venue:
v
Reading Room
The British Academy
10 Carlton House Terrace
London
SW1Y 5AH
This seminar is organised by Policy Network with the support of the Barrow Cadbury Trust