IUSSP Scientific Panel on Historical Demography

IUSSP Scientific Panel on the Integration of Migrants (2007-2009)

Call for papers

International workshop on Indicators of integration in social statistics

Organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on the Integration of migrants, the Quebec Inter-University Centre for Social Statistics (QICSS) and the Institut National d’Etudes Demographiques (INED). Montreal, Canada, 10-11 December 2007

This first workshop organized by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on the “Integration of Migrants” will address the much debated issue of the measurement of integration. It will focus on theoretical and methodological issues as well on empirical findings based on studies using quantitative indicators. The workshop is scheduled to take place following the Conference on “Social Statistics and Ethnic Diversity: Should we count, how should we count and why?” organized in Montreal on 6-8 December 2007 by QICSS and INED.

The aim of this workshop is to launch a critical overview of the different approaches of integration processes in quantitative studies. Most scientific research on the “integration of migrants” makes extensive use of quantitative data, but only a few studies offer a critical assessment of the background and limits of the indicators. A review of the scientific literature in sociology, demography, geography and economy, shows that there is a gap between theoretical debates on assimilation versus integration, on the one hand, and the empirical analyses of the situations and trajectories of migrants, on the other. Unemployment rates, segregation indexes, intermarriage rates, homogamy within social networks, linguistic maintenance or shift, discrepancies in health status, crime rates and cultural preferences are used as benchmarks for assessing integration or assimilation processes. These indicators are often used without explicit reference to broader analytic framework and concepts. Why and how far these indicators are relevant for the study of integration have yet to be fully demonstrated.

Quantitative indicators of integration or assimilation are not only designed for scientific purposes, but they provide crucial information for social policy makers. Collected through censuses, administrative data or scientific surveys, quantitative data are basic tools for development of integration policies, particularly in Western Europe. The implicit or explicit normative values behind these indicators call for analysis. Although statistics are vital for devising and implementing public policies, they are not as value-neutral as they are often portrayed. The way they are conceived and developed are frequently policy driven. As a result, the notion of “indicators of integration” needs to be viewed from a normative perspective, since these indicators are often designed to produce “integration” more than to provide information on a complex and ongoing process. International comparisons are especially important for they can help to understand whether and how the definition of a set of indicators is shaped by national contexts.

This workshop will bring together social scientists working in the area of population studies and migration and integration studies. Anthropologists and political scientists are also welcome. The organizers seek papers that provide a formal discussion of theoretical and methodological issues or present empirical case studies. The papers may be country or region-specific or comparative. All dimensions involved in integration processes are of valuable interest. Please note that due to the tight time-table, the workshop is open to discuss works in progress.

The IUSSP Scientific Panel on the Integration of Migrants invites researchers in the field to submit online a 200-word abstract of their proposed paper and curriculum vitae before 1 October 2007. Abstracts may be submitted in English or in French, and the working languages at the meeting will be English and French. Invitations to attend the workshop will be issued by 3 November 2007. Participants are expected to send a draft paper or a PowerPoint presentation one week before the workshop. These drafts will circulate among the participants.

The workshop will be limited to a maximum of 20 contributed papers. Workshop organizers will pay for expenses at the meeting location for all participants, but can only cover accommodation and travel expenses for a limited number. Participants are therefore encouraged to seek their own funding for travel and invited to specify if they need a grant for their participation.

For further information, please contact Patrick Simon (simon@ined.fr).