Labour market policy preferences in the context of migration

In our chapter, we discuss and test potential impacts of migration on individual preferences regarding labour market policies in Europe. We thereby assume that rising immigration may prompt changes in notions about how labour market policies should cope with the concurrent risks perceived by individuals. More specifically, we ask whether and how far increased immigration promotes individual preferences for shifting public efforts from passive to active labour market policies. To test our assumption we apply a quantitative multilevel approach, this allows us to analyse individual and contextual determinants simultaneously. Our results show that the migration context does not generally affect labour market policy preferences of individuals, much rather such effects are contingent on an individual’s norms and justice beliefs.