Parallel session I
Belonging in a new home: What supports immigrant participation in host country society and labour market
Session room: RUU D101 JUHO
Political efficacy and immigrant background, language-use and adult skills between two PIAAC Cycles
Saida Essert (Mamedova), University of Hamburg, Germany
Anke Grotlüschen, University of Hamburg, Germany
Political participation is essential for democratic governance. In a democracy, citizen’s feelings of political efficacy enable institutions to be effective, while effective governance helps maintain high political trust. The enablers and hindrances to beliefs about the democratic system and one’s role in it, then, is an existential question for democracies. In this work, we aim to expand the literature on the individual and contextual factors related to political efficacy in a cross-country comparison over time. We consider a complex interplay of individual- and contextual-level factors that are associated with external political efficacy. External political efficacy has long-established links to socio-economic and socio-demographic individual characteristics. A small pool of research also includes foundational adult skills, such as literacy or numeracy. Moreover, previous research recognizes that individuals do not live in isolation. We live in societies that shape our beliefs. Economic inequality, state of democracy, and public support for populist parties, are, among others, the contextual factors that have been shown to be related to political efficacy. We use data from the Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) combined with the information from other databases for country-level context to examine changes between the two cycles of PIAAC, 2012 and 2023. Our aim was to analyze all 27 countries that participated in both cycles of PIAAC. After exclusion based on the data availability, we end up with fourteen countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, Spain. Our results indicate that, controlling for age, education and other socio-demographic factors, in 2023 adults with immigrant history and various language backgrounds, on average, fail to differ in their political efficacy either in Germany or in the cross-country analysis. We found that while higher literacy in the official language is associated with higher political efficacy in the cross-country European context higher political efficacy now requires higher literacy abilities than those needed in 2012. Including contextual factors, our analysis shows that adults living in more democratic and more economically equal countries continue having higher political efficacy. We also found that the relationship between political efficacy and the voter support for right-wing political parties in the elections have a positive relationship. Political efficacy and the voter support for left-wing political parties in the elections have a negative relationship. These findings update and deepen previous research on the relationships of political efficacy to individual- and context-level factors.
Immigrant subjective well-being, STEM education, and country of study: the case of Israel
Maiia Kim, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Anastasia Gorodzeisky, Tel Aviv University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Israel
This paper is the first attempt to examine whether immigrant status, defined by the country where immigrants received their qualifications (country of origin versus country of destination), and fields of study (STEM or non-STEM), are associated with subjective well-being (SWB). The theoretical framework of the study is based on social production function theory, the theory of human capital transferability, Bourdieusian social reproduction theory, and the hypothesis of effectively maintained inequality. STEM education is conceptualized as a status symbol in society. The hypotheses suggest that 1) destination-country-educated immigrants demonstrate lower SWB than native-born citizens but higher SWB than origin-country-educated immigrants, 2) STEM graduates have higher SWB compared to non-STEM graduates, and 3) immigrant status has a lower influence on SWB among STEM graduates compared to non-STEM graduates. Israeli PIAAC data (Cycle 2, 2024) were used to answer the research questions. Israel is an interesting case for such an examination due to the very large immigrant population that has arrived in the country since the 1990s and the “elite” status of STEM fields in society. Separate analyses were conducted for the full sample and the employed subsample of Israeli citizens. The multivariate analysis was based on linear regression models, including interaction effects to capture differences in the effect of immigrant status on SWB across fields of study. The findings show that the country where Israeli immigrants received their education is related to their SWB, but not in the expected way. In the full sample, both Israeli-educated and foreign-educated immigrants report lower SWB than native-born Israelis, but there is no difference between these two immigrant groups. Among the employed, foreign-educated immigrants do not differ from native-born Israelis in their level of SWB, while Israeli-educated immigrants demonstrate lower SWB than native-born Israelis. The specific demographic composition of the Israeli immigrant population might explain this. A significant proportion of Israeli-educated immigrants represent 1.5 generation immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, whose parents frequently suffered in Israel from very poor economic conditions, especially after retirement, regardless of their level of education. Thus, the relatively lower SWB of these immigrants might be caused by concern for their elderly parents and the need to help them financially. Second, despite the importance of education for SWB, as explained by social production function theory and the Bourdieusian conceptualization of STEM education as a status symbol, it does not appear to translate directly into relatively high SWB. Challenging and stressful working conditions in the Israeli STEM sector might explain this. Third, in line with the expectations based on human capital transferability theory, which posits that less language-dependent and less country-specific STEM skills are more successfully transferable to the host country’s labor market, STEM education was found to mitigate the SWB disadvantage associated with immigrant status in Israel.
A study of immigrant skills gaps based on PIAAC data and AI-enabled intervention pathways
Weiyi Feng, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
This study uses data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to examine why a substantial proportion of immigrants—despite holding higher education degrees—face persistent difficulties in translating their human capital into labor market advantages. Specifically, we analyze gaps between immigrants and native-born populations in literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills in technology-rich environments. Against the backdrop of rapid artificial intelligence (AI) advancement, the study further explores how emerging AI technologies can help bridge these gaps through personalized learning and targeted interventions. We investigate the potential of AI-driven systems—including adaptive learning platforms, automated skill assessment tools, and language support applications—to deliver scalable, cost-effective, and individualized training. The analysis focuses on how such tools can accelerate skill acquisition, enhance employability, and reduce structural inequalities in host-country labor market. Based on these findings, the study proposes policy recommendations aimed at leveraging the rapid development of AI systems to compensate for the limitations and inherent biases of human instruction, reduce the underutilization of immigrant skills, and promote economic mobility within inclusive labor markets.
From Transaction to Care: Digital Public Services for Migrants
Nils Ehrenberg, University of Vaasa, Finland
Uttishta Varanasi, Aalto University, Finland
Public service development for migrants in Nordic countries is increasingly digital first, aiming to leverage digital technologies to deliver more efficient services. Effective two-way integration of migrants and communities
requires trust, care and community; values that are harder to replicate through the focus on efficiency through this digital-first approach. We argue that an emphasis on infrastructure of care can help improve the efficacy of adult learning and support more robust labour market integration for migrant workers. As Nordic-Baltic markets undergo
transformation in the face of new technologies, green movements, and demographic changes, the design of public services such as employment and education become sites of democratic and economic consequence. The current deployment of public services has largely proceeded under more transactional logics of efficiency and economy, measuring success through the velocity and quantity of task completion. However, this focus on completing “transactions” can risk eroding social cohesion, which may result in a decline of institutional trust, especially in communities considered more marginal. The recent, increased emphasis on using AI in public service provision has further intensified the drive for efficiency over other values. Drawing on empirical work in the city of Espoo consisting of 17 qualitative interviews (conducted in English and Somali) and workshops with migrant mothers. The interviews were thematically analysed based on digital literacy, agency, and identity. We observed how the mothers ambitions and agency are described as “check-lists”, and the use of AI being perceived as a matter of efficiency rather than improved services. We propose that new digital public services should be based on logics of care, rather than efficiency which often results in a transactional process. By reframing the underlying logic of digital services we consider how digital services function as a part of integration in Finnish society. This involves re-framing the ‘customers’ of a service from simply receiving the service and towards considering them as active and agentic members of society. We argue that treating public services, such as adult education, as vital, societal investments rather than a more transactional correction of labour market mismatch is a necessary political reorientation.
Political efficacy and immigrant background, language-use and adult skills between two PIAAC Cycles
Saida Essert (Mamedova), University of Hamburg, Germany
Anke Grotlüschen, University of Hamburg, Germany
Political participation is essential for democratic governance. In a democracy, citizen’s feelings of political efficacy enable institutions to be effective, while effective governance helps maintain high political trust. The enablers and hindrances to beliefs about the democratic system and one’s role in it, then, is an existential question for democracies. In this work, we aim to expand the literature on the individual and contextual factors related to political efficacy in a cross-country comparison over time. We consider a complex interplay of individual- and contextual-level factors that are associated with external political efficacy. External political efficacy has long-established links to socio-economic and socio-demographic individual characteristics. A small pool of research also includes foundational adult skills, such as literacy or numeracy. Moreover, previous research recognizes that individuals do not live in isolation. We live in societies that shape our beliefs. Economic inequality, state of democracy, and public support for populist parties, are, among others, the contextual factors that have been shown to be related to political efficacy. We use data from the Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) combined with the information from other databases for country-level context to examine changes between the two cycles of PIAAC, 2012 and 2023. Our aim was to analyze all 27 countries that participated in both cycles of PIAAC. After exclusion based on the data availability, we end up with fourteen countries, including Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Slovak Republic, Spain. Our results indicate that, controlling for age, education and other socio-demographic factors, in 2023 adults with immigrant history and various language backgrounds, on average, fail to differ in their political efficacy either in Germany or in the cross-country analysis. We found that while higher literacy in the official language is associated with higher political efficacy in the cross-country European context higher political efficacy now requires higher literacy abilities than those needed in 2012. Including contextual factors, our analysis shows that adults living in more democratic and more economically equal countries continue having higher political efficacy. We also found that the relationship between political efficacy and the voter support for right-wing political parties in the elections have a positive relationship. Political efficacy and the voter support for left-wing political parties in the elections have a negative relationship. These findings update and deepen previous research on the relationships of political efficacy to individual- and context-level factors.
Immigrant subjective well-being, STEM education, and country of study: the case of Israel
Maiia Kim, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Anastasia Gorodzeisky, Tel Aviv University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Israel
This paper is the first attempt to examine whether immigrant status, defined by the country where immigrants received their qualifications (country of origin versus country of destination), and fields of study (STEM or non-STEM), are associated with subjective well-being (SWB). The theoretical framework of the study is based on social production function theory, the theory of human capital transferability, Bourdieusian social reproduction theory, and the hypothesis of effectively maintained inequality. STEM education is conceptualized as a status symbol in society. The hypotheses suggest that 1) destination-country-educated immigrants demonstrate lower SWB than native-born citizens but higher SWB than origin-country-educated immigrants, 2) STEM graduates have higher SWB compared to non-STEM graduates, and 3) immigrant status has a lower influence on SWB among STEM graduates compared to non-STEM graduates. Israeli PIAAC data (Cycle 2, 2024) were used to answer the research questions. Israel is an interesting case for such an examination due to the very large immigrant population that has arrived in the country since the 1990s and the “elite” status of STEM fields in society. Separate analyses were conducted for the full sample and the employed subsample of Israeli citizens. The multivariate analysis was based on linear regression models, including interaction effects to capture differences in the effect of immigrant status on SWB across fields of study. The findings show that the country where Israeli immigrants received their education is related to their SWB, but not in the expected way. In the full sample, both Israeli-educated and foreign-educated immigrants report lower SWB than native-born Israelis, but there is no difference between these two immigrant groups. Among the employed, foreign-educated immigrants do not differ from native-born Israelis in their level of SWB, while Israeli-educated immigrants demonstrate lower SWB than native-born Israelis. The specific demographic composition of the Israeli immigrant population might explain this. A significant proportion of Israeli-educated immigrants represent 1.5 generation immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, whose parents frequently suffered in Israel from very poor economic conditions, especially after retirement, regardless of their level of education. Thus, the relatively lower SWB of these immigrants might be caused by concern for their elderly parents and the need to help them financially. Second, despite the importance of education for SWB, as explained by social production function theory and the Bourdieusian conceptualization of STEM education as a status symbol, it does not appear to translate directly into relatively high SWB. Challenging and stressful working conditions in the Israeli STEM sector might explain this. Third, in line with the expectations based on human capital transferability theory, which posits that less language-dependent and less country-specific STEM skills are more successfully transferable to the host country’s labor market, STEM education was found to mitigate the SWB disadvantage associated with immigrant status in Israel.
A study of immigrant skills gaps based on PIAAC data and AI-enabled intervention pathways
Weiyi Feng, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
This study uses data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to examine why a substantial proportion of immigrants—despite holding higher education degrees—face persistent difficulties in translating their human capital into labor market advantages. Specifically, we analyze gaps between immigrants and native-born populations in literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills in technology-rich environments. Against the backdrop of rapid artificial intelligence (AI) advancement, the study further explores how emerging AI technologies can help bridge these gaps through personalized learning and targeted interventions. We investigate the potential of AI-driven systems—including adaptive learning platforms, automated skill assessment tools, and language support applications—to deliver scalable, cost-effective, and individualized training. The analysis focuses on how such tools can accelerate skill acquisition, enhance employability, and reduce structural inequalities in host-country labor market. Based on these findings, the study proposes policy recommendations aimed at leveraging the rapid development of AI systems to compensate for the limitations and inherent biases of human instruction, reduce the underutilization of immigrant skills, and promote economic mobility within inclusive labor markets.
From Transaction to Care: Digital Public Services for Migrants
Nils Ehrenberg, University of Vaasa, Finland
Uttishta Varanasi, Aalto University, Finland
Public service development for migrants in Nordic countries is increasingly digital first, aiming to leverage digital technologies to deliver more efficient services. Effective two-way integration of migrants and communities
requires trust, care and community; values that are harder to replicate through the focus on efficiency through this digital-first approach. We argue that an emphasis on infrastructure of care can help improve the efficacy of adult learning and support more robust labour market integration for migrant workers. As Nordic-Baltic markets undergo
transformation in the face of new technologies, green movements, and demographic changes, the design of public services such as employment and education become sites of democratic and economic consequence. The current deployment of public services has largely proceeded under more transactional logics of efficiency and economy, measuring success through the velocity and quantity of task completion. However, this focus on completing “transactions” can risk eroding social cohesion, which may result in a decline of institutional trust, especially in communities considered more marginal. The recent, increased emphasis on using AI in public service provision has further intensified the drive for efficiency over other values. Drawing on empirical work in the city of Espoo consisting of 17 qualitative interviews (conducted in English and Somali) and workshops with migrant mothers. The interviews were thematically analysed based on digital literacy, agency, and identity. We observed how the mothers ambitions and agency are described as “check-lists”, and the use of AI being perceived as a matter of efficiency rather than improved services. We propose that new digital public services should be based on logics of care, rather than efficiency which often results in a transactional process. By reframing the underlying logic of digital services we consider how digital services function as a part of integration in Finnish society. This involves re-framing the ‘customers’ of a service from simply receiving the service and towards considering them as active and agentic members of society. We argue that treating public services, such as adult education, as vital, societal investments rather than a more transactional correction of labour market mismatch is a necessary political reorientation.