IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joimai/v20y2019i2d10.1007_s12134-018-0606-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Estonian Migrants’ Aspiration for Social Citizenship in Finland: Embracing the Finnish Welfare State and Distancing from the ‘Non-Deserving’

Author

Listed:
  • Rolle Alho

    (Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki)

  • Markku Sippola

    (Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tampere)

Abstract

The consequences of immigration for the welfare states has received increased attention by scholars and in political and media debates in Europe. However, migrants’ subjective understandings of the welfare state remains an understudied research topic. This study aims to address the topic by analysing the question in the Nordic context by looking at Estonian labour migrants’ understandings of the Finnish welfare state. Our data consists of 51 biographical interviews with Estonian migrants in Finland. Based on the interviews, we traced interviewees’ attitudes towards the Finnish welfare state. In Finland, Estonians aspire for social citizenship, which in their case refers to gaining economic welfare and embracing Finnish welfare state institutions. This aspiration for social citizenship is revealed in Estonians’ ‘identity talk’, which takes two forms: embracement and distancing. By embracement, we mean their positive sentiments towards the institutions and norms of the Finnish welfare state. The interviewees highlight their participation in the labour market, diligent payment of taxes, justified use of the welfare benefits and services offered by the Finnish state, and membership in trade unions and unemployment funds. The interviewees underline the link between work and the deservingness of welfare benefits. They describe themselves as deserving, which, they claim, should put them on par with native Finns. Moreover, by means of distancing, the interviewed Estonians distinguish themselves from ‘others’—in their opinion—‘non-deserving’ migrants who ‘do not contribute’ to the Finnish welfare state.

Suggested Citation

  • Rolle Alho & Markku Sippola, 2019. "Estonian Migrants’ Aspiration for Social Citizenship in Finland: Embracing the Finnish Welfare State and Distancing from the ‘Non-Deserving’," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 341-359, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:20:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s12134-018-0606-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-018-0606-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12134-018-0606-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12134-018-0606-9?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kristi Anniste & Tiit Tammaru, 2014. "Ethnic differences in integration levels and return migration intentions," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(13), pages 377-412.
    2. Shiri Noy & Koen Voorend, 2016. "Social Rights and Migrant Realities: Migration Policy Reform and Migrants’ Access to Health Care in Costa Rica, Argentina, and Chile," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 605-629, May.
    3. Markku Sippola, 2013. "The Awkward Choices Facing the Baltic Worker: Exit or Loyalty," Journal of Baltic Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(4), pages 451-473, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Arunas Juska & Charles Woolfson, 2015. "Austerity, labour market segmentation and emigration: the case of Lithuania," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 236-253, May.
    2. Karin Amit, 2018. "Identity, Belonging and Intentions to Leave of First and 1.5 Generation FSU Immigrants in Israel," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 1219-1235, October.
    3. Anastasia Sinitsyna & Karin Torpan & Raul Eamets & Tiit Tammaru, 2021. "Overlap Between Industrial Niching and Workplace Segregation: Role of Immigration Policy, Culture and Country of Origin," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 179-191.
    4. Ngoc Thi Minh Tran & Michael P. Cameron & Jacques Poot, 2021. "Perception of Institutional Quality Difference and Return Migration Intention: The Case of the Vietnamese Diaspora," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2114, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    5. Veronika Mooses & Siiri Silm & Tiit Tammaru & Erki Saluveer, 2020. "An ethno-linguistic dimension in transnational activity space measured with mobile phone data," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Ngoc Thi Minh Tran & Michael P. Cameron & Jacques Poot, 2018. "Return or Not Return? The Role of Home-Country Institutional Quality in Vietnamese Migrants’ Return Intentions," Working Papers in Economics 18/04, University of Waikato.
    7. Litovchenko, A. & Chudinovskikh, O., 2022. "On the impact of acquiring citizenship on some socio-economic characteristics of migrants and their position in the labor market," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 53(1), pages 143-162.
    8. Ngoc Thi Minh Tran & Michael P. Cameron & Jacques Poot, 2022. "Perception of institutional quality differences and intention of migrants to return home: a case study of Vietnamese diaspora," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 213-237, February.
    9. Cruz-Martinez, Gibran, 2019. "Rethinking universalism: Older-age international migrants and social pensions in Latin America and the Caribbean," SocArXiv w7zrq, Center for Open Science.
    10. Chen Chen & Aude Bernard & Ryan Rylee & Guy Abel, 2022. "Brain Circulation: The Educational Profile of Return Migrants," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 387-399, February.
    11. Maria Bakalova & Mihaela Misheva, 2018. "Explanations of Economic Rationality Challenged: Contemporary Return Migration to Bulgaria," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 2, pages 80-101.
    12. Daniela Marzana & Sara Martinez Damia & Elena Marta & Maura Pozzi & Maria Loreto Martínez, 2022. "Engagement in migrant organizations for immigrant integration: A mixed-method study with Peruvians in Chile," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 2125-2146, December.
    13. Voorend, Koen & Bedi, Arjun S. & Sura-Fonseca, Rebeca, 2021. "Migrants and access to health care in Costa Rica," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    14. K. B. Usha, 2014. "Social Consequences of Neoliberal Economic Crisis and Austerity Policy in the Baltic States," International Studies, , vol. 51(1-4), pages 72-100, January.
    15. Musterd, Sako & Marci?czak, Szymon & van Ham, Maarten & Tammaru, Tiit, 2015. "Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities: Increasing Separation between Poor and Rich," IZA Discussion Papers 9603, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Kristiina Kukk & Maarten van Ham & Tiit Tammaru, 2019. "EthniCity of Leisure: A Domains Approach to Ethnic Integration During Free Time Activities," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 110(3), pages 289-302, July.
    17. Koen Voorend & Daniel Alvarado, 2023. "Barriers to Healthcare Access for Immigrants in Costa Rica and Uruguay," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 747-771, June.

    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:spr:joimai:v:20:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s12134-018-0606-9. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.