Why Europe’s immigration policies are not converging

Consterdine, Erica and Hampshire, James (2019) Why Europe’s immigration policies are not converging. LSE Blogs.

Abstract

Are immigration policies in European countries converging? Or do some countries remain more open to immigrants than others? Drawing on a new study, Erica Consterdine and James Hampshire write that while it might be expected that globalisation would have encouraged European states to adopt similar immigration policies, there is little sign this has occurred. There is some evidence that policies reflect variations in capitalism across Europe, but the main driver of immigration policy continues to be domestic party politics and national debates in individual counties