Migration statistics harmonisation in the European Union : comparing the cases of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands

• Main Author: Werner, Deborah
• Other Authors: Brace, Laura ; Guerra, Simona
• Published: University of Leicester 2016
• Subjects: 320
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.682408

This study addresses how European Union (EU) level and domestic level actors strive to harmonise migration statistics. Comparable migration statistics are essential for EU policy-makers and academics for informed policy formulation and policy evaluation. Yet the components of these statistics vary between the EU member states and hamper their comparison. While the statistical possibilities to enhance the comparability of migration statistics are well-covered in the literature, few studies look into the statistics producers themselves, or ask which factors further the harmonisation of migration statistics. With migration policy rising on the EU’s agenda, also related statistics gain in importance. Statistics producers inform governments as well as supranational institutions, and are therefore essential for democratic and transparent policy-making. It is vital, therefore, to analyse those who collect the data, how they produce statistics, and how they harmonise them across countries. This study employs a most different case research design and focuses on two distinct national statistical systems in their cooperation with EU stakeholders in the case of migration statistics harmonisation. Comparing the United Kingdom with the Netherlands, this thesis finds that there was most domestic adaptation and policy convergence in view of migration statistics definitions, and less adaptation regarding the policy instruments as well as policy goals. This thesis argues that in addition to supranational explanatory factors such as a high obligatory potential, high domestic administrative capacity as well as national non-opposition to and knowledge of rules drive migration statistics harmonisation.