
A new study from Rockwool Foundation Research and University College London analyses changing Danish integration policies over the last 40 years, with the purpose of ascertaining which ones work. In Denmark, the main criterium for successful integration is considered to be attachment to the labour market, which is what this study focuses on.
Rules and measures concerning geographical distribution, educational options, job training, language skills and social benefits all have an effect on refugee integration. Denmark has changed many of the legislative measures on these issues, as well as its integration programme, over the years: some of these changes have had a positive impact on integration, but others have served only to decrease refugees' attachment to the labour market.
170 000 refugees have been granted asylum in Denmark since 1952. Annual totals have fluctuated, but in general numbers have risen since the late 1980s and peaked twice: once in 1995 with the arrival of a large number of Bosnians, and once in 2015 with the arrival of large numbers of Syrians and Eritreans. Since then, totals have dropped dramatically, today reaching their lowest point in over 40 years.
Key findings presented in the study include:
- Reduced social benefits and early job training are helping more refugees into the labour market in the short short term, but can have several negative consequences. Low benefits affect women and children particularly negatively, while early job training reduces refugees' participation in Danish language courses and Danish language skills, thereby reducing their chances of integration in the longer term.
- Targeted placements and Danish language courses have positive long-term effects on refugees' salaries and employment. Being placed in areas with 1) better options for employment, 2) many others from the same home country, and 3) high levels of social housing or education options are all factors which can improve refugees' employment level. For this reason, the policy of forced and even distribution of refugees all over the country has had a negative impact on their employment. Prolonged, free and mandatory Danish language teaching, meanwhile, was found to be beneficial for refugees' income level.
- Restricting the criteria for obtaining permanent residency may obstruct the integration of less resourceful groups. The criteria for such residency in Denmark have been restricted several times, making them very hard to meet today. Only 330 refugees received the relevant permit in 2021, while a total of 25 000 permits were granted over the seven previous years. As this study focuses mainly on employment, another effect of these criteria is not mentioned: since 2017, education is not taken into account at all, which means that young refugees tend to take unskilled jobs rather than enrolling in education, purely for the purpose of obtaining permanent residency.
Five types of refugee policy are evaluated in the study, and only two are found to produce positive effects that outweigh their negative costs: the first is the allowing of refugees to choose where they would like to settle, and the second is the introduction of active labour market programmes that increase language skill investments. By contrast, policies that emphasise early job training, regulate access to welfare benefits or use the draw of permanent residence to incentivise skill investment, although beneficial for some, create obstacles for others.
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