From social rights to social incorporation. Factors explaining Nicaraguan immigrants’ access to Costa Rican social policy

• In Event: Transnational Migration and Comparative Perspectives on Non-Citizenship in the Americas

Abstract

Costa Rica has an extensive social policy regime, and the state provides social services to a large sector of the population, including the middle class and the non-salaried population. However, migration adds another dimension to the question of integration. Indeed, social services play a central role in the economic and social incorporation of immigrants, and become a political exercise that define the institutional base of citizenship rights, which articulates the principle mechanisms of integration and segregation within societies. In previous work, I have shown that different groups of Nicaraguan immigrants access Costa Rica's social policy regime in different ways (LASA2015 article). In this article, based on primary data from an 800-N representative survey, I analyse the factors which explain why some Nicaraguan migrants have better access to Costa Rica’s social services than others.

Author

• Koen Voorend, Universidad de Costa Rica