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The integration of the immigrants in spain and its regions

Abstract:

This paper presents an innovative measurement system regarding the integration of immigrants in Spain and its regions. Complementing in various ways the EU-sponsored Declaration of Zaragoza, the approach proposed here includes 24 indicators grouped into four areas: employment, social and intergroup relations, individual welfare, and citizenship. Based on a wide range of secondary sources, it is the first measurement system of immigrant integration that achieves comprehensive statistical coverage at the infra-national level. Its indicators allow for longitudinal measurement; by comparing 2007 and 2011 data, the impact of the ongoing economic crisis’ initial years on the integration of immigrants is discerned. The results evidence some ambivalence: immigrants experience increasing disadvantages in the domains of employment and welfare compared with Spaniards; in contrast, in the areas of citizenship and social relations, integration has evolved favorably even in the context of economic recession. Multifaceted integration processes and territorial disparities originate three separate regional profiles.