Scholarlink

Chapter 3 outlines the research design that structures the study’s investigation into the governance of labor immigration to low‑skilled occupations (LILSO). It begins by formulating the central research questions, which address both long-term institutional and historical determinants of less restrictive migration regimes and the conditions under which democratic governments liberalize LILSO admission and integration policies. The chapter distinguishes between two dimensions of openness—numerical openness and rights‑openness—and explores their interrelationship, as well as the role of economic, political, and contextual factors in shaping policy change. A third overarching question bridges the analysis of stable macro‑structures with short‑term, dynamic drivers of policy reform. The chapter then defines the units of analysis and scope conditions. Part II of the book focuses on nation‑states as the primary regulatory authorities for labor migration, justified despite critiques of methodological nationalism. Part III, in turn, investigates the policy output of these states, examining major regulatory reforms affecting third‑country nationals in low-skilled employment between 1990 and 2019. The scope conditions include democratic political systems, a 30‑year time frame marked by significant geopolitical and socio‑economic developments, and explicit criteria for identifying relevant policy reforms. The second half of the chapter introduces the methodological foundation of the study: a set‑theoretic, configurational approach using fuzzy‑set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The chapter explains the logic of sets, necessity and sufficiency, calibration, truth tables, and the advantages of QCA for capturing causal complexity, conjunctural causation, and equifinality. While refraining from causal claims, the study uses QCA to identify configurations of conditions that enable the emergence of less restrictive LILSO governance. Overall, the chapter establishes the conceptual and methodological scaffolding for the empirical analyses that follow.

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Research Design: Adding the Configurational Perspective to Migration Research

  • 章节

  • 发表日期：

    2026年

查看全文
  • Anna-Christine Görg

摘要

Chapter 3 outlines the research design that structures the study’s investigation into the governance of labor immigration to low‑skilled occupations (LILSO). It begins by formulating the central research questions, which address both long-term institutional and historical determinants of less restrictive migration regimes and the conditions under which democratic governments liberalize LILSO admission and integration policies. The chapter distinguishes between two dimensions of openness—numerical openness and rights‑openness—and explores their interrelationship, as well as the role of economic, political, and contextual factors in shaping policy change. A third overarching question bridges the analysis of stable macro‑structures with short‑term, dynamic drivers of policy reform. The chapter then defines the units of analysis and scope conditions. Part II of the book focuses on nation‑states as the primary regulatory authorities for labor migration, justified despite critiques of methodological nationalism. Part III, in turn, investigates the policy output of these states, examining major regulatory reforms affecting third‑country nationals in low-skilled employment between 1990 and 2019. The scope conditions include democratic political systems, a 30‑year time frame marked by significant geopolitical and socio‑economic developments, and explicit criteria for identifying relevant policy reforms. The second half of the chapter introduces the methodological foundation of the study: a set‑theoretic, configurational approach using fuzzy‑set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The chapter explains the logic of sets, necessity and sufficiency, calibration, truth tables, and the advantages of QCA for capturing causal complexity, conjunctural causation, and equifinality. While refraining from causal claims, the study uses QCA to identify configurations of conditions that enable the emergence of less restrictive LILSO governance. Overall, the chapter establishes the conceptual and methodological scaffolding for the empirical analyses that follow.