189337 Immigration, Welfare Regime, and Health Status

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 10:37 AM

Carles Muntaner, MD, PhD , Center for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Haejoo Chung, RPh, MSc , Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
     
We use the global empirical classification of countries developed by the Employment Conditions Network (EMCONET) of the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health (Benach, Muntaner, Santana, 2008) to determine the association between immigration (documented and undocumented) and a country's welfare regime (the particular mix of government, private sector and family in the provision of goods and services). We examine these associations at three levels of economic development (i.e. for core, semi-periphery and periphery). We also determine the relationship between welfare regime, immigration and country health status. We argue that welfare regime analyses can leads to an understanding of the "push" and "pull" factors driving immigration across the globe (mainly South-North and South-South) and at various income levels. Welfare regime analysis might also be useful for developing policies to reduce the flow of undocumented labor across borders.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the global empirical classification of countries developed by the Employment Conditions Network of the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health. 2. Examine the relationship between welfare regime, immigration, and country health status. 3. Learn about how welfare regime analyses might be useful to understand factors driving immigration across the globe.

Keywords: Immigration, Measuring Social Inequality

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a medical degree as well as a Ph.D. in epidemiology, and have worked in the area of health inequality and immigration status for many years, with more than 96 publications.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Panel Discussion: Global patterns and contextual factors associated with immigration and health
See more of: Epidemiology