IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0129916.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Association between Integration Policies and Immigrants’ Mortality: An Explorative Study across Three European Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Umar Z Ikram
  • Davide Malmusi
  • Knud Juel
  • Grégoire Rey
  • Anton E Kunst

Abstract

Background: To integrate immigrants into their societies, European countries have adopted different types of policies, which may influence health through both material and psychosocial determinants. Recent studies have suggested poorer health outcomes for immigrants living in countries with poorly rated integration policies. Objective: To analyse mortality differences of immigrants from the same country of origin living in countries with distinct integration policy contexts. Methods: From the mortality dataset collected in the Migrant Ethnic Health Observatory (MEHO) project, we chose the Netherlands (linked data from 1996-2006), France (unlinked; 2005-2007) and Denmark (linked; 1992-2001) as representatives of the inclusive, assimilationist and exclusionist policy models, respectively, based on the Migrant Integration Policy Index. We calculated for each country sex- and age-standardized mortality rates for Turkish-, Moroccan- and local-born populations aged 20-69 years. Poisson regression was used to estimate the mortality rate ratios (MRRs) for cross-country and within-country comparisons. The analyses were further stratified by age group and cause of death. Results: Compared with their peers in the Netherlands, Turkish-born immigrants had higher all-cause mortality in Denmark (MRR men 1.92; 95% CI 1.74-2.13 and women 2.11; 1.80-2.47) but lower in France (men 0.64; 0.59-0.69 and women 0.58; 0.51-0.67). A similar pattern emerged for Moroccan-born immigrants. The relative differences between immigrants and the local-born population were also largest in Denmark and lowest in France (e.g., Turkish-born men MRR 1.52; 95% CI 1.38-1.67 and 0.62; 0.58-0.66, respectively). These patterns were consistent across all age groups, and more marked for cardiovascular diseases. Conclusions: Although confounders and data comparability issues (e.g., French cross-sectional data) may affect the findings, this study suggests that different macro-level policy contexts may influence immigrants’ mortality. Comparable mortality registration systems across Europe along with detailed socio-demographic information on immigrants may help to better assess this association.

Suggested Citation

  • Umar Z Ikram & Davide Malmusi & Knud Juel & Grégoire Rey & Anton E Kunst, 2015. "Association between Integration Policies and Immigrants’ Mortality: An Explorative Study across Three European Countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0129916
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129916
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0129916
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0129916&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0129916?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wallace, Matthew & Kulu, Hill, 2014. "Low immigrant mortality in England and Wales: A data artefact?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 100-109.
    2. Krieger, N. & Chen, J.T. & Coull, B. & Waterman, P.D. & Beckfield, J., 2013. "The unique impact of abolition of Jim Crow Laws on reducing inequities in infant death rates and implications for choice of comparison groups in analyzing societal determinants of health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(12), pages 2234-2244.
    3. Steven A. Weldon, 2006. "The Institutional Context of Tolerance for Ethnic Minorities: A Comparative, Multilevel Analysis of Western Europe," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(2), pages 331-349, April.
    4. Thomas Liebig, 2007. "The Labour Market Integration of Immigrants in Australia," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 49, OECD Publishing.
    5. Thomas Liebig, 2007. "The Labour Market Integration of Immigrants in Germany," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 47, OECD Publishing.
    6. Thomas Liebig, 2007. "The Labour Market Integration of Immigrants in Denmark," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 50, OECD Publishing.
    7. Boulogne, Roxane & Jougla, Eric & Breem, Yves & Kunst, Anton E. & Rey, Grégoire, 2012. "Mortality differences between the foreign-born and locally-born population in France (2004–2007)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(8), pages 1213-1223.
    8. Bécares, L. & Shaw, R. & Nazroo, J. & Stafford, M. & Albor, C. & Atkin, K. & Kiernan, K. & Wilkinson, R. & Pickett, K., 2012. "Ethnic density effects on physical morbidity, mortality, and health behaviors: A systematic review of the literature," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(12), pages 33-66.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Blom, Niels & Huijts, Tim & Kraaykamp, Gerbert, 2016. "Ethnic health inequalities in Europe. The moderating and amplifying role of healthcare system characteristics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 43-51.
    2. Carme Borrell & Laia Palència & Xavier Bartoll & Umar Ikram & Davide Malmusi, 2015. "Perceived Discrimination and Health among Immigrants in Europe According to National Integration Policies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-13, August.
    3. Roelfs, David J. & Shor, Eran, 2024. "The problematic nature of existing explanations for differential immigrant mortality: Insights from a comparative cross-national systematic review and meta-analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    4. Sonja Haustein & Maarten Kroesen & Ismir Mulalic, 2020. "Cycling culture and socialisation: modelling the effect of immigrant origin on cycling in Denmark and the Netherlands," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1689-1709, August.
    5. Dourgnon, Paul & Pourat, Nadereh & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2023. "European immigrant health policies, immigrants’ health, and immigrants’ access to healthcare," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 37-43.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Flake, Regina, 2012. "Multigenerational Living Arrangements among Migrants," Ruhr Economic Papers 366, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    2. Smirnykh, L. & Polaykova, E., 2020. "Income and the integration of migrants in the Russian labour market," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 47(3), pages 84-104.
    3. Marek Szarucki & Jan Brzozowski & Jelena Stankevičienė, 2016. "Determinants of self-employment among Polish and Romanian immigrants in Germany," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 598-612, July.
    4. Regina Flake, 2012. "Multigenerational Living Arrangements among Migrants," Ruhr Economic Papers 0366, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Postepska, Agnieszka & Voloshyna, Anastasiia, 2024. "The Effect of Ukrainian Refugees on the Local Labour Markets: The Case of Czechia," IZA Discussion Papers 16965, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Michael S. Rendall & Flavia Tsang & Jennifer K. Rubin & Lila Rabinovich & Barbara Janta, 2010. "Contrasting Trajectories of Labor-Market Integration Between Migrant Women in Western and Southern Europe [Trajectoires d’intégration des immigrées sur le marché du travail: une comparaison entre l," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 26(4), pages 383-410, November.
    7. Sebastian Butschek & Thomas Walter, 2014. "What active labour market programmes work for immigrants in Europe? A meta-analysis of the evaluation literature," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Frederik Thuesen & Vibeke Jakobsen & Nina T. Dalgaard & Bjørn C. A. Viinholt, 2020. "PROTOCOL: Interventions to improve the economic self‐sufficiency of unemployed immigrants from non‐Western countries," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), December.
    9. Walter, Thomas & Butschek, Sebastian, 2013. "What Active Labour Market Programmes Work for Immigrants in Europe?," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 79745, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    10. Picot, Garnett & Sweetman, Arthur, 2011. "Canadian Immigration Policy and Immigrant Economic Outcomes: Why the Differences in Outcomes between Sweden and Canada?," IZA Policy Papers 25, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. repec:wsr:ecbook:2010:i:ii-008 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Wielandt, Hanna, 2015. "Employment polarization and immigrant employment opportunities," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2015-025, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    13. repec:zbw:rwirep:0366 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Jutvik, Kristoffer & Robinson, Darrel, 2019. "Limited time or secure residence? A study on the short-term effects of temporary and permanent residence permits on labour market participation," Working Paper Series 2018:17, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    15. David Coleman, 2009. "Divergent Patterns in the Ethnic Transformation of Societies," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(3), pages 449-478, September.
    16. Jutta Hoehne & Ines Michalowski, 2016. "Long-Term Effects of Language Course Timing on Language Acquisition and Social Contacts: Turkish and Moroccan Immigrants in Western Europe," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 133-162, March.
    17. Riccardo Natoli & Beverley Jackling & Asheley Jones, 2018. "Examining the Usefulness of an Accounting Work‐readiness Program as Perceived by Employed Program Graduates," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 28(3), pages 345-355, September.
    18. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2015-025 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Seibert, Holger, 2008. "Junge Migranten am Arbeitsmarkt: Bildung und Einbürgerung verbessern die Chancen," IAB-Kurzbericht 200817, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    20. David Coleman, 2009. "Migration and its consequences in 21st century Europe," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 7(1), pages 1-18.
    21. Swati Mehta Dhawan, 2018. "Financial Inclusion of Germany s Refugees: Current Situation and Road Ahead," Working Paper 5dbf343c-d373-4942-a9ed-c, European Microfinance Network.
    22. Woźniak Katarzyna, 2020. "Integration of immigrants and the role of policy in the OECD countries," Economics and Business Review, Sciendo, vol. 6(1), pages 3-21, March.
    23. Eleonora Trappolini & Cristina Giudici, 2021. "Gendering health differences between nonmigrants and migrants by duration of stay in Italy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 45(7), pages 221-258.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0129916. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.