Integration of Immigrants in European Labour Markets

The journal Intereconomics, published bi-monthly by CEPS and the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (ZBW), features articles dealing with economic and social policy issues affecting Europe. Each issue contains a Forum section offering an in-depth exploration of a selected topic. All contributions to the Forum section in each issue, as well as the Editorial, are available for free downloading from the CEPS website at the links below (for full content, see www.intereconomics.eu).

Abstract: The European refugee crisis of 2015 has led to a renewed surge of research into how to integrate refugees – as well as family and labour migrants – into European societies and in particular into EU labour markets. The papers in this Forum examine previous research on immigrant integration and update it with fresh data and new insights. Why do immigrants integrate better in some countries than others? Which skills have proven to be most essential for their successful integration, and what tools are available to countries to foster this integration? This Forum combines studies of the labour market integration programmes and methods used in speci?c countries – including a “best practice” review of the Canadian immigrant integration system with a review of social integration measures and an analysis of Bosnian refugee integration efforts from the 1990s. While the labour market integration of immigrants will likely always remain a dif? cult task, the authors in this Forum hope to contribute to improving this process and consequently enriching both host countries’ economies and immigrants’ lives.

Authors: Mikkel Barslund, Matthias Busse, Karolien Lenaerts, Lars Ludolph, Vilde Renman, Yuliya Kosyakova, Steffen Sirries, Nahikari Irastorza, Pieter Bevelander, Arthur Sweetman, Nadzeya Laurentsyeva, Alessandra Venturin, Cian Mulligan, Anne Krueger

Forum: Integration of Refugees: Lessons from Bosnians in Five EU Countries

By Mikkel Barslund, Matthias Busse, Karolien Lenaerts, Lars Ludolph and Vilde Renman

Forum: Large-Scale Immigration and Labour Market Integration: First Lessons from the Recent Past in Germany

By Yuliya Kosyakova and Steffen Sirries

Forum: The Labour Market Participation of Humanitarian Migrants in Sweden: An Overview

By Nahikari Irastorza and Pieter Bevelander

Forum: Canada’s Immigration System: Lessons for Europe?

By Arthur Sweetman

Forum: The Social Integration of Immigrants and the Role of Policy – A Literature Review

By Nadzeya Laurentsyeva and Alessandra Venturini

Editorial: The Fragility of Freedom of Movement

By Cian Mulligan