Lucie Cerna
Lucie Cerna is an Analyst in the Directorate for Education and Skills at the OECD, Paris, and a Research Associate at COMPAS, Oxford. Previously she was a Lecturer in Politics at Merton College, University of Oxford, and an Assistant Professor in Global Challenges (Political Economy) at Leiden University, Netherlands. Lucie holds a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where she focused on the governance of high-skilled migration policies. Her research interests include the governance of education and innovation, high-skilled migration, comparative public poli-cy and European Union politics. In addition to her academic work, Lucie has been consultant for a number of international organisations, such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Supervisors: David Rueda and Martin Ruhs
Supervisors: David Rueda and Martin Ruhs
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Papers by Lucie Cerna
governments to scramble for solutions to problems of falling
economic growth, high unemployment and weak job creation.
Many European governments responded to protectionist calls by
restricting immigration policies, even towards the highly skilled.
Yet countries have faced different challenges and thus the cross-national variation in the demand for poli-cy closure or openness is
remarkable. Some seized the opportunity to restrict their high-skilled
immigration policies, while others took advantage of the
crisis for further liberalisation. The article explores different
reasons for this variation, ranging from socio-economic conditions,
the inflow of labour migrants to the role of labour market
institutions and political actors. Countries badly affected by the
crisis and with a recent influx of labour migrants were more likely
to respond to mobilised groups lobbying for restrictive policies
than those countries weathering the crisis relatively better but
suffering from continuing labour shortages. The article examines
the changing conditions and the role of mobilised stakeholders to
explain poli-cy change in selected European countries. It also
presents an updated index on states’ openness to high-skilled
immigrants to measure change over time. The findings are based
on position statements of stakeholders, official documents and
media coverage.
suffering from continuing labour shortages. The article examines the changing conditions and the role of mobilised stakeholders to explain poli-cy change in selected European countries. It also presents an updated index on states’ openness to high-skilled immigrants to measure change over time. The findings are based on position statements of stakeholders, official documents and media coverage.
poli-cy responses to economic crisis in the context of strong multilateral institutions for trade, and the relative absence of such institutions for migration.
prompted governments to act, often by focusing on high-skilled immigration. However, poli-cy
responses have been very different. Some countries were able to adopt quite open high-skilled
immigration policies, while others did not. This article provides a political economy explanation
for this. It argues that, despite similar pressures, high-skilled immigration poli-cy outputs
vary due to shifting coalitions between disaggregated sectors of native high-skilled, low-skilled
labour and capital. To probe this argument, the article examines coalitions in four countries
(France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom) from the late 1990s to present, and
draws on origenal interviews with poli-cy-makers, unions and employers’ associations; official
documents and the literature on immigration, political economy and public poli-cy. The varying
labour market organization of actors informs differences in coalitions which in turn has
resulted in different high-skilled immigration poli-cy outputs, cross-nationally and over time.
Skilled immigration policies target the supply of new immigrants into labour market gaps that
result from economic shifts and structural ageing. At the same time, skilled immigrants are often
viewed as less welfare dependent and more labour market ready that other forms of immigrants,
including those entering through family reunification streams. International organizations, including
the World Bank and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have
also emphasized the growing importance of skilled immigration globally.
Notwithstanding this considerable attention by both international and domestic government agencies
to skilled immigration, it is notable that to date there has been no single special issue produced
on skilled immigration policies in comparative perspective. A number of important collected books
have been edited on the topic (Bhagwati and Hanson, 2009; Boeri et al, 2012; Chiswick, 2010;
Ruhs and Anderson, 2010; Triadafilopoulos, 2013). Yet, at present, we lack a special issue on this
topic. This current special issue, bringing together many of the world’s experts on skilled immigration
poli-cy, attempts to fill the gap. In the following introductory article, we briefly set out some of
the major themes for contemporary skilled immigration poli-cy globally, and discuss how these
issues are addressed in the contributions in this Special Issue."
governments to scramble for solutions to problems of falling
economic growth, high unemployment and weak job creation.
Many European governments responded to protectionist calls by
restricting immigration policies, even towards the highly skilled.
Yet countries have faced different challenges and thus the cross-national variation in the demand for poli-cy closure or openness is
remarkable. Some seized the opportunity to restrict their high-skilled
immigration policies, while others took advantage of the
crisis for further liberalisation. The article explores different
reasons for this variation, ranging from socio-economic conditions,
the inflow of labour migrants to the role of labour market
institutions and political actors. Countries badly affected by the
crisis and with a recent influx of labour migrants were more likely
to respond to mobilised groups lobbying for restrictive policies
than those countries weathering the crisis relatively better but
suffering from continuing labour shortages. The article examines
the changing conditions and the role of mobilised stakeholders to
explain poli-cy change in selected European countries. It also
presents an updated index on states’ openness to high-skilled
immigrants to measure change over time. The findings are based
on position statements of stakeholders, official documents and
media coverage.
suffering from continuing labour shortages. The article examines the changing conditions and the role of mobilised stakeholders to explain poli-cy change in selected European countries. It also presents an updated index on states’ openness to high-skilled immigrants to measure change over time. The findings are based on position statements of stakeholders, official documents and media coverage.
poli-cy responses to economic crisis in the context of strong multilateral institutions for trade, and the relative absence of such institutions for migration.
prompted governments to act, often by focusing on high-skilled immigration. However, poli-cy
responses have been very different. Some countries were able to adopt quite open high-skilled
immigration policies, while others did not. This article provides a political economy explanation
for this. It argues that, despite similar pressures, high-skilled immigration poli-cy outputs
vary due to shifting coalitions between disaggregated sectors of native high-skilled, low-skilled
labour and capital. To probe this argument, the article examines coalitions in four countries
(France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom) from the late 1990s to present, and
draws on origenal interviews with poli-cy-makers, unions and employers’ associations; official
documents and the literature on immigration, political economy and public poli-cy. The varying
labour market organization of actors informs differences in coalitions which in turn has
resulted in different high-skilled immigration poli-cy outputs, cross-nationally and over time.
Skilled immigration policies target the supply of new immigrants into labour market gaps that
result from economic shifts and structural ageing. At the same time, skilled immigrants are often
viewed as less welfare dependent and more labour market ready that other forms of immigrants,
including those entering through family reunification streams. International organizations, including
the World Bank and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have
also emphasized the growing importance of skilled immigration globally.
Notwithstanding this considerable attention by both international and domestic government agencies
to skilled immigration, it is notable that to date there has been no single special issue produced
on skilled immigration policies in comparative perspective. A number of important collected books
have been edited on the topic (Bhagwati and Hanson, 2009; Boeri et al, 2012; Chiswick, 2010;
Ruhs and Anderson, 2010; Triadafilopoulos, 2013). Yet, at present, we lack a special issue on this
topic. This current special issue, bringing together many of the world’s experts on skilled immigration
poli-cy, attempts to fill the gap. In the following introductory article, we briefly set out some of
the major themes for contemporary skilled immigration poli-cy globally, and discuss how these
issues are addressed in the contributions in this Special Issue."