Is There an Evidence Basis for Immigrant Integration Policies?: A Methodological Enquiry

Abstract

More than 10 years after the introduction of immigrant integration policies in Western Europe, policy debates have shifted from conceptual issues (What is integration? When is an immigrant integrated into a society?) to the effectiveness of integration policies (Do integration policies help immigrants to find jobs, learn a language or access services?). There is, in other words, a manifest need of an evidence basis, but no scientific studies on the topic have been published so far. Is there an evidence basis for immigrant integration policies? Which standards ought such an evidence basis to fulfil? This article addresses the two questions from an exploratory perspective. It provides an overview of the available information on the effectiveness of immigrant integration policies across the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. By doing so, it contributes to the incorporation of the perspective of evidence-based policy literature from the field of public administration into immigrant integration studies.