Emilsson H.
Integration policy and refugees’ economic performance: Evidence from Sweden’s 2010 reform of the introduction programme
In this paper, we investigate whether integration policy improves refugees’ economic performance, specifically examining the effects on refugees’ income of Sweden's 2010 reform of the introduction programme (or IP). We also evaluate how the reform effects vary depending on refugees’ gender and educational attainment. Our key finding shows a strong positive effect of the reform on refugees’ income, immediately after…
2021
Integration into the Labour Market and Skills Training of Migrants in Sweden
Sweden ratified the UN convention of refugees in 1954; the right of asylum was fully implemented in the new Foreigner Act of 1954 (SFS 1954:193). The new act enabled permanent residency (bosättningstillstånd) and the equal status of foreigners on the labour market was emphasised in the preparatory work (see government bill, Prop. 1953:41). For a long time, refugee immigration was…
2020
Improving access to the labour market for refugees in Sweden: Key findings and recommendations
Sweden is often singled out as having comparatively inclusive integration policy measures for migrants in general and refugees and their families in particular. Still, the employment gap between the native born and foreign born is among the largest among OECD countries, and the situation for refugees is especially difficult. Persistently high unemployment rates among refugees and their families have prompted…
2020
Language training for asylum seekers and newcomers in Sweden: Key findings and recommendations
Swedish language training and education for adult immigrants occurs under the intersecting policy areas of integration, labour market participation and education. Since the first initiatives in the 1960s, it has undergone numerous reforms. Today it is, for the large part, a highly formalised education while at the same time some certain aspects of language training are practically unregulated. Importantly, asylum…
2019
Language Education for Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Sweden: Provision and Governance
This report is about language training and education for adult asylum seekers and refugees in Sweden with a particular focus on the situation in the region of Scania. It responds to questions about the governance of language training and education with a particular focus on gender and the role of civil society. As a field of governance, language training and…
2019