Migration does not damage social cohesion, says study

Greater ethnic diversity in European countries does not harm social cohesion and trust within a community, according to a new report.

A new paper published today by the Adam Smith Institute argues that social cohesion is not generally damaged by higher migration and diversity levels, contrary to popular opinion.

The report includes a focus on social dynamics in Europe, stating that increased diversity has not been shown to negatively impact upon measures of social cohesion such as civic participation, trust in authority, and volunteer work.

Furthermore, the report finds that most negative outcomes of diversity can be mitigated by policies which work to control additional factors such as neighborhood status and economic deprivation.

That said, the Institute’s findings around social cohesion in the US were significantly different. Here, researchers note significantly lower levels of trust in a community with high levels of diversity. Researchers suggest that the nation’s experience of slavery may still be limiting trust between races, more so than is seen in other countries.

The report’s author James Dobson commented: "Politicians have often claimed that migration damages community cohesion, but the evidence for this claim is far from clear. Studies in Europe and the UK have frequently failed to find a correlation between high levels of diversity and low levels of social cohesion."

Paul Spoonley also writes about the impact of superdiversity on social cohesion, stating that levels of anxiety and hostility are generally expected to increase when migrants enter a community. However, the overall economic benefits of migration are usually enough to mitigate these negative impacts, as migrants can lead to increases in productivity and innovation.

The lasting impacts of slavery in the US are also discussed by Graziella Bertocchi, who highlights the fact that ethnic minorities still exhibit relatively low levels of education and human capital. She suggests that policies designed to remove racial inequalities in schools may help to combat this trend.

Read more here.

Related articles:
Superdiversity, social cohesion, and economic benefits, by Paul Spoonley
Slavery, racial inequality, and education, by Graziella Bertocchi
Immigrants and entrepreneurship, by Magnus Lofstrom