Migration and the Dutch welfare state
Why do migrants choose the Netherlands? It's often thought that it is because of the high quality of the welfare state, but according to Groningen professor Helga de Valk, that’s a misconception. If it were true, then the Scandinavian countries would be the most popular, and migrants would never want to move on. The data does not support this scenario.
De Valk: 'Large-scale European research has revealed that it is important to look at the life course. The life course reveals at what point in a person’s life they choose to migrate, and what the most important factors in that person’s life are at that moment. Young people from other European member states, for example, come to the Netherlands to study or to work. That means that they are not really concerned with welfare state arrangements such as childcare or pensions. In fact, people don’t know very much about them.'
Prof.Helga de Valk also works for the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI).
More information
University of Groningen videos
The weekly online video magazine Unifocus highlights topics related to the University of Groningen in the fields of research and society, student life, teaching, policy and internationalization.
You can find more videos in our video portal.
Last modified: | 28 September 2021 2.32 p.m. |
More news
-
08 July 2024
New collaboration between UGBS and Faculty of Spatial Sciences: education for professionals
Bringing together knowledge and experience will provide new educational opportunities for professionals working in a variety of organisations.
-
20 June 2024
Hoe stoppen we het verlies van essentiële voorzieningen in elke regio en op het platteland?
Wat kan Nederland leren van de manieren waarop andere landen in Europa basisvoorzieningen in het landelijk gebied weten te behouden? Op verzoek van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties hebben Bettina Bock, Tialda Haartsen en...
-
17 June 2024
UG wins two out of six ENLIGHT Impact Awards
During the second edition of the ENLIGHT Impact Awards on 11 June in Bilbao, the RUG won two of the six Impact Awards.