Professor Grete Brochmann: Immigration in Scandinavia Today

America protects its welfare system from immigrants, but leaves its labor market open, while the EU protects its labor markets and leaves its welfare system open “. This pointed remark about the contrast between the American and the European approach to modern immigration may have coined some of the basically different dynamics of the immigration regimes of the two continents. Although such a sweeping statement naturally would have needed  qualifications even decades ago, today it calls for a more thorough review. Most European governments would today see “protection of the labor market” as wishful thinking, and “open welfare systems” have  at all times been a grand overstatement. This “European” juxtaposition has nevertheless been more agreeable with the Nordic  part of Europe than the rest  - decades ago and today. All the three Scandinavian countries have historically combined a  strict labor immigration regulation with equal treatment policy in terms of access to welfare rights of legal residents. This dual approach, has been followed more meticulously among the Nordics than what has been the case other places in Europe. In this presentation Grete Brochmann will discuss the historical genesis of the approach, emphasizing economic, political and ideological factors, and show how today, when the model is seriously challenged,  institutional path dependencies serve as both obstacles for change and possible remedies for cure.