ETHNIC DIVERSITY AND THE WELFARE STATE A North American Perspective

1. ETHNIC DIVERSITY AND THE WELFARE STATE A North American Perspective Keith G. BantingSocial Mobility and Life Chances Forum14 November 2005

2. 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

3. The U.S. ExperienceAn 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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)

7. Counter Narratives I Canada

8. Ethnicity and Trust in Canada

9. Ethnicity and Support for Redistribution in Canada • Virtually no relationship • Sensitivity of minorities, not majorities • No evidence of majority turning away

10. 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

11. Low-income among Immigrants1980-2000

12. Political IntegrationSense of pride in Canada

13. Citizenship Ceremonies in Toronto

14. In Vancouver and Halifax

15. Counter Narratives IIImmigration and Social Spending • Immigration and social spending across OECD • Social spending as % of GDP • Size of foreign-born population • Levels versus change over time

16. Foreign-Born Population and Social Spending, 2000

17. Change in Foreign-Born Population and Change in Social Spending OECD Countries, 1970-1998

18. 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

19. Counter Narratives IIIRecognition 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

20. Multiculturalism Policies • formal affirmation of multiculturalism (2) multiculturalism in school curriculum (3) ethnic representation in the media (4) exemptions from dress-codes, etc. (5) allowing dual citizenship (6) funding of ethnic groups (7) funding of bilingual education (8) affirmative action

21. Multiculturalism Policies and Change in Social Spending, 1980-2000

22. Multiculturalism Policies and Change in Redistribution, 1980-2000

23. 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

24. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS • Challenging ideas of universal tradeoffs • The danger of master narratives • The importance of counter narrative

25. Thank You