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ETHNIC DIVERSITY AND THE
WELFARE STATE
A North American Perspective
Keith G. Banting
Social Mobility and Life Chances
Forum
14 November 2005
A Progressive’s Dilemma?
• Are immigration and multiculturalism policies eroding
the welfare state?
• Diversity versus Redistribution?
• Crowding out/Corroding/Collateral damage/Misdiagnosis
• Recognition versus Redistribution?
• Multiculturalism polices exacerbate tensions
The U.S. Experience
An Emerging Master Narrative
• Race and the U.S. welfare state
• The politics of social programs
• Backlash against multiculturalism policies
• Public attitudes to race and social redistribution
Politics of Social Policy in the U.S.
• Race, Recognition and Redistribution
• The Politics of Social Security in the 1930s
• The War on Poverty in the 1960s
• Ending Welfare as We Knew it in the 1990s
• Backlash against multiculturalism policies
Public Attitudes and Social Capital
• Gilens:
• Why Americans hate welfare
• Alberto Alesina et al
• race and trust
• Robert Putnam and Social Capital
• bridging and bonding
• hunkering down
From Exceptionalism to
Master Narrative
• Race and U.S. exceptionalism
– A distinctive American pattern?
– Myrdal, “An American Dilemma” (1944)
• The U.S. as the quintessential case
– U.S. experience as evidence of a universal pattern?
– Glazer, “Exceptional No Longer” (1998)
Counter Narratives I
Canada
Ethnicity and Trust in Canada
Ethnicity and Support for
Redistribution in Canada
• Virtually no relationship
• Sensitivity of minorities, not majorities
• No evidence of majority turning away
Explaining Canadian Experience
• Canadian multicultural identity
• Legitimation of difference
• Immigrant economic integration
• Traditional pattern of economic integration
• Emerging problems in the 1980s and 1990s
• Immigrant political integration
• High levels of naturalization
• Identity convergence over time
Low-income among Immigrants
1980-2000
Political Integration
Sense of pride in Canada
No Controls
+ Immigrant Status
...+ Age
...+ Religion
...+ Neighborhood
Aboriginal
French
Southern European
Eastern European
S. Asian/ Middle East
East Asian
Caribbean/Af rican
significant
-0.2
-0.15
-0.1
significant
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
Marginal effect of ethnicity on probab ility of x=1, for Pri de i n Cana da
0.2
Citizenship Ceremonies in Toronto
In Vancouver and Halifax
Counter Narratives II
Immigration and Social Spending
• Immigration and social spending across OECD
• Social spending as % of GDP
• Size of foreign-born population
• Levels versus change over time
30
Foreign-Born Population and
Social Spending, 2000
DEN
SWE
FRA
25
FRG
BEL
AUT
FIN
ITA
GRE
NOR
UKM
20
POR
SPN
NET
ICE
NZL
AUL
CAN
15
JPN
USA
10
IRE
0
5
10
15
2000 Migrant Stock, % Population
20
25
Change in Foreign-Born Population and
Change in Social Spending
OECD Countries, 1970-1998
Diversity versus Redistribution?
• Race and redistribution:
– tension in some societies (US)
• Immigration:
– Level of foreign born population not an issue
– Pace of change does seem to mater
Counter Narratives III
Recognition and Redistribution
• A trade-off between recognition and redistribution?
• Historical pattern: attempts to assimilate immigrants
• Multicultural policies of last decades of 2oth century
• Controversy over multiculturalism policies
Multiculturalism Policies
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
formal affirmation of multiculturalism
multiculturalism in school curriculum
ethnic representation in the media
exemptions from dress-codes, etc.
allowing dual citizenship
funding of ethnic groups
funding of bilingual education
affirmative action
8
MCP Score and Change in Social Spending as a % of GDP (linear)
CAN
6
AUS
UK
4
NET
BEL
US
2
SWE
FRA
IRL
ITA
SPN
FIN
AUT
GER
0
MCP Score
Multiculturalism Policies and Change in
Social Spending, 1980-2000
DEN
-20
Rsq = 0.04
NOR
0
20
40
Change in Social Spending as a % of GDP (linear)
60
Multiculturalism Policies and Change in
Redistribution, 1980-2000
8
MCP Score and Change in Redistribution (linear)
CAN
6
AUS
UK
4
NET
BEL
US
2
SWE
FRA
ITA
IRL
FIN
SPN
0
AUT
GER
NOR
-20
Rsq = 0.02
-10
0
10
Change in Redistribution (linear)
DEN
20
BETWEEN IMMIGRATION AND
REDISTRIBUTION
• We need to understand the role of:
• The nature of the immigration flow
• Economic integration of immigrants
• Political integration of immigrants
• Structure of the welfare state
CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS
• Challenging ideas of universal tradeoffs
• The danger of master narratives
• The importance of counter narrative
Thank You