Migration and Integration 2026
Content
Week 1......................................................................................................3
Bogus Refugees? The Determinants of Asylum Migration to Western
Europe (Neumayer, 2005).........................................................................3
Migration to European Countries: A Structural Explanation of Patterns,
1980–2004 (Hooghe et al., 2008).............................................................6
Lecture 1: International migration – Definitions, types, trends and
theories.....................................................................................................9
Week 2....................................................................................................13
Successive National Policy Models - Chapter 4 from Migration Diversity
and Social Cohesion (Jennissen et al., 2023)..........................................13
The Effectiveness of Immigration Policies (Czaika & de Haas, 2013)......16
Lecture 2 – Migrants and Policy...............................................................18
Week 3....................................................................................................21
Theories of Discrimination (Fibbi et al., 2021)........................................21
Trends in Hiring Discrimination (Quillian & Lee, 2022)............................24
Lecture 3: Defining and measuring ethno-racial discrimination.............25
Week 4....................................................................................................29
Griesshaber & Seibel (2015) — Over-education among Immigrants in
Europe: The Value of Civic Involvement..................................................29
Larsen & Di Stasio (2021) — Pakistanis in the UK and Norway: Different
Contexts, Similar Disadvantage..............................................................31
Lecture 4: Why are so many immigrants socio economically deprived?.32
Week 5....................................................................................................36
Dimitrova, Chasiotis & Van de Vijver (2016) — Adjustment Outcomes of
Immigrant Children and Youth in Europe: A Meta-Analysis.....................36
Delaruelle et al. (2021) — Mental Health in Adolescents with a Migration
Background in 29 European Countries: The Buffering Role of Social
Capital.....................................................................................................38
Lecture 5: Immigration and Child Mental Health.....................................40
Week 6....................................................................................................45
Bilgili (2014) – "Migrants' Multi-Sited Social Lives".................................45
Bilgili & Erdal (2025) – "Migrant Transnationalism Meets Integration"
(Chapter 4)..............................................................................................47
,Bilgili & Erdal (2025) – "What Is Migrant Transnationalism?" (Chapter 1)
................................................................................................................48
Lecture 6: Migrant transnationalism.......................................................50
Week 7....................................................................................................56
Berry (1997) – "Immigration, Acculturation, and Adaptation".................56
Vervoort, Flap & Dagevos (2011) – "The Ethnic Composition of the
Neighbourhood and Ethnic Minorities' Social Contacts"..........................57
Van der Linden & Dagevos (2025) – "Policy Variation and Refugee
Integration".............................................................................................59
Lecture 7: The socio-cultural integration of immigrants within its context
................................................................................................................60
,Week 1
Bogus Refugees? The Determinants of Asylum Migration to
Western Europe (Neumayer, 2005)
Problem Definition
The article addresses a central debate in European politics: are asylum
seekers in Western Europe primarily economic migrants ("bogus
refugees"), or are they driven by genuine political persecution, human
rights abuses, and violence? This matters both for policy design and for
how destination countries justify their restrictive asylum policies.
Neumayer notes that Western European governments had increasingly
used deterrence measures to reduce asylum numbers, but had done little
to address the root causes of why people flee in the first place.
Theory
Neumayer frames asylum migration as a rational cost-benefit decision.
A potential asylum seeker weighs the costs of staying in their home
country against the costs of migrating. Migration occurs when staying
becomes more costly than leaving.
Costs of staying are raised by:
Economic hardship (low income, poor growth, economic
discrimination against minorities)
Political oppression (autocracy, restricted freedoms)
Threats to personal safety (human rights violations, civil war, state
failure, violence)
Costs of migrating are lowered by:
Existing migration networks (prior asylum seekers from the same
country)
Geographic proximity to Western Europe
Cultural/religious similarity
Colonial ties
Casual contact through aid, trade, and tourism
Generous welfare provisions in destination countries
An important nuance is the "migration hump" idea: extreme poverty
may actually prevent migration because people lack the resources to
travel. Similarly, harsh autocracies may physically prevent people from
, leaving, creating a possible nonlinear (bell-shaped) relationship between
both poverty and autocracy on one hand, and asylum flows on the other.
Hypotheses
Based on the theory, Neumayer tests whether asylum flows to Western
Europe are higher when:
1. GDP per capita in the origin country is lower
2. Economic growth in the origin country is lower
3. Economic discrimination against ethnic minorities is higher
4. The political regime is more autocratic (possibly with a nonlinear,
bell-shaped effect)
5. Human rights violations are more severe
6. There is more civil war, ethnic conflict, or state failure
7. There is more dissident political violence
8. Natural disasters or famines occur (tested but expected to be
less relevant for Western European destinations)
9. Migration networks (existing asylum seekers from the same origin
country) are larger
10. Geographic distance to Western Europe is smaller
11. Colonial ties, religious similarity, and casual contact (aid,
trade, tourism) facilitate migration
Results
The analysis covers 127 developing countries as origin countries and 17
Western European destination countries over the period 1982–1999.
Confirmed hypotheses — significant determinants:
Lower GDP per capita → more asylum seekers (roughly a 1:1
elasticity)
Lower economic growth → more asylum seekers
Economic discrimination against minorities → more asylum
seekers
Autocracy → more asylum seekers, with some evidence of a
nonlinear (bell-shaped) effect — only in the most extreme
autocracies does emigration restriction outweigh the incentive to
flee
Content
Week 1......................................................................................................3
Bogus Refugees? The Determinants of Asylum Migration to Western
Europe (Neumayer, 2005).........................................................................3
Migration to European Countries: A Structural Explanation of Patterns,
1980–2004 (Hooghe et al., 2008).............................................................6
Lecture 1: International migration – Definitions, types, trends and
theories.....................................................................................................9
Week 2....................................................................................................13
Successive National Policy Models - Chapter 4 from Migration Diversity
and Social Cohesion (Jennissen et al., 2023)..........................................13
The Effectiveness of Immigration Policies (Czaika & de Haas, 2013)......16
Lecture 2 – Migrants and Policy...............................................................18
Week 3....................................................................................................21
Theories of Discrimination (Fibbi et al., 2021)........................................21
Trends in Hiring Discrimination (Quillian & Lee, 2022)............................24
Lecture 3: Defining and measuring ethno-racial discrimination.............25
Week 4....................................................................................................29
Griesshaber & Seibel (2015) — Over-education among Immigrants in
Europe: The Value of Civic Involvement..................................................29
Larsen & Di Stasio (2021) — Pakistanis in the UK and Norway: Different
Contexts, Similar Disadvantage..............................................................31
Lecture 4: Why are so many immigrants socio economically deprived?.32
Week 5....................................................................................................36
Dimitrova, Chasiotis & Van de Vijver (2016) — Adjustment Outcomes of
Immigrant Children and Youth in Europe: A Meta-Analysis.....................36
Delaruelle et al. (2021) — Mental Health in Adolescents with a Migration
Background in 29 European Countries: The Buffering Role of Social
Capital.....................................................................................................38
Lecture 5: Immigration and Child Mental Health.....................................40
Week 6....................................................................................................45
Bilgili (2014) – "Migrants' Multi-Sited Social Lives".................................45
Bilgili & Erdal (2025) – "Migrant Transnationalism Meets Integration"
(Chapter 4)..............................................................................................47
,Bilgili & Erdal (2025) – "What Is Migrant Transnationalism?" (Chapter 1)
................................................................................................................48
Lecture 6: Migrant transnationalism.......................................................50
Week 7....................................................................................................56
Berry (1997) – "Immigration, Acculturation, and Adaptation".................56
Vervoort, Flap & Dagevos (2011) – "The Ethnic Composition of the
Neighbourhood and Ethnic Minorities' Social Contacts"..........................57
Van der Linden & Dagevos (2025) – "Policy Variation and Refugee
Integration".............................................................................................59
Lecture 7: The socio-cultural integration of immigrants within its context
................................................................................................................60
,Week 1
Bogus Refugees? The Determinants of Asylum Migration to
Western Europe (Neumayer, 2005)
Problem Definition
The article addresses a central debate in European politics: are asylum
seekers in Western Europe primarily economic migrants ("bogus
refugees"), or are they driven by genuine political persecution, human
rights abuses, and violence? This matters both for policy design and for
how destination countries justify their restrictive asylum policies.
Neumayer notes that Western European governments had increasingly
used deterrence measures to reduce asylum numbers, but had done little
to address the root causes of why people flee in the first place.
Theory
Neumayer frames asylum migration as a rational cost-benefit decision.
A potential asylum seeker weighs the costs of staying in their home
country against the costs of migrating. Migration occurs when staying
becomes more costly than leaving.
Costs of staying are raised by:
Economic hardship (low income, poor growth, economic
discrimination against minorities)
Political oppression (autocracy, restricted freedoms)
Threats to personal safety (human rights violations, civil war, state
failure, violence)
Costs of migrating are lowered by:
Existing migration networks (prior asylum seekers from the same
country)
Geographic proximity to Western Europe
Cultural/religious similarity
Colonial ties
Casual contact through aid, trade, and tourism
Generous welfare provisions in destination countries
An important nuance is the "migration hump" idea: extreme poverty
may actually prevent migration because people lack the resources to
travel. Similarly, harsh autocracies may physically prevent people from
, leaving, creating a possible nonlinear (bell-shaped) relationship between
both poverty and autocracy on one hand, and asylum flows on the other.
Hypotheses
Based on the theory, Neumayer tests whether asylum flows to Western
Europe are higher when:
1. GDP per capita in the origin country is lower
2. Economic growth in the origin country is lower
3. Economic discrimination against ethnic minorities is higher
4. The political regime is more autocratic (possibly with a nonlinear,
bell-shaped effect)
5. Human rights violations are more severe
6. There is more civil war, ethnic conflict, or state failure
7. There is more dissident political violence
8. Natural disasters or famines occur (tested but expected to be
less relevant for Western European destinations)
9. Migration networks (existing asylum seekers from the same origin
country) are larger
10. Geographic distance to Western Europe is smaller
11. Colonial ties, religious similarity, and casual contact (aid,
trade, tourism) facilitate migration
Results
The analysis covers 127 developing countries as origin countries and 17
Western European destination countries over the period 1982–1999.
Confirmed hypotheses — significant determinants:
Lower GDP per capita → more asylum seekers (roughly a 1:1
elasticity)
Lower economic growth → more asylum seekers
Economic discrimination against minorities → more asylum
seekers
Autocracy → more asylum seekers, with some evidence of a
nonlinear (bell-shaped) effect — only in the most extreme
autocracies does emigration restriction outweigh the incentive to
flee
