Conceptualising international migrations and assessing migrants’ position in the Swedish labour market: a Capability Approach perspective

This PhD is article-based and consists of four papers on related topics and an introduction. The central theme of the these four studies is migrants’ position in the Swedish labour market. The introduction provides the general reference and background to the four papers in terms of rationale and general aim. In Paper I the candidate introduces a model on international migration based on the capability approach. In Paper II the candidate investigates the nature of the transformation triggered by the reform of labour mobility entitled ‘New Rules for Labour Immigration’, introduced in Sweden in 2008, and its impact on migrants’ well-being. The analysis is carried out by applying the methodology of the ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ approach and the Human Development and Capability Approach. Paper III aims to measure the impact of Swedish for immigrants (SFI) - the language course offered to any immigrant who lacks a basic knowledge of Swedish - on its young adult participants’ probability to find a job. This is done by applying a conditional (fixed-effects) logistic regression model to panel data. Paper IV investigates the phenomenon of exclusion from the labour market experienced by young adults living in Sweden in order to ascertain whether it is affected by one’s migrant background. The notion of exclusion from the labour market is conceptualized as deprivation of the capability for work and operationalized using a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) Model.