Empirical Measurement of Integration & Cohesion

The empirical measurement of the integration and cohesion impacts of migration throw up key conceptual, practical and sociological challenges. The paper features the findings of a study of such impacts in the UK commissioned to develop evidence-based public policy. Integration and social cohesion are elusive concepts that are defined in different ways. There are impacts on national identity. Measures here refer to perceptions of feeling or belonging to a national society. In the British case, the trend over time is of a move from an ancestral understanding of identity, couched in ethno-cultural fixtures, to one based more on civic values and responsibilities. Secondly, migration impacts on integration, defined as group outcomes set against the societal average. Here migration’s impact assumes a great deal of importance—as migration and policies that modulate migration have impacts on trajectories. Notwithstanding that the choice of measure is critical, it is clear that different immigrant groups perform very differently. Finally, migration impacts on cohesion, namely how migration affects neighborhoods, and is defined by people’s perceptions of how people get along with each other in their local area. The paper reports UK empirical measures of this in two ways, first by perceived positive or negative changes in neighborliness and in respect and interaction between social groups; and second by levels of trust in local institutions (such as the police). The findings suggest that new migration does not notably affect cohesion but pre-existing diversity and high levels of poverty are predictors of lower social cohesion. There are important insights for social researchers examining issues around the size of migrant communities and for policymakers in respect of managing the pace of change in neighbourhoods.