Conclusion: Researching (and Improving) Migrant Integration Outcomes in Western Europe

In this concluding chapter, I first provide a summary of my conceptual framework, hypotheses, research design, and empirical results. By and large, the findings reported throughout this book support my six hypotheses and, therefore, my broader arguments about the importance of sociopolitical conditions, psychological mechanisms, and feedback effects in understanding migrant integration processes. I then elaborate on the practical implications of my results. Specifically, my findings suggest that policymakers can improve migrant integration outcomes by combating political polarization and discriminatory climates, managing migrants’ expectations, and creating opportunities for migrants to participate in the political processes of their host country. Finally, this chapter discusses the scholarly implications of my results as well as potential directions for future research. Five such directions are being considered: examining the effects of political polarization and discriminatory climates on other integration outcomes; analyzing the impact of different sociopolitical conditions on integration outcomes; focusing on psychological mechanisms other than expectations; extending the conceptual framework by including interaction effects; and exploring how migrants form expectations regarding their host country.