Cantonal variations of integration policy and their impact on immigrant educational inequality

Migration policy regimes are mainly analysed from an international comparative perspective, whereas subnational policy variations, although they are particularly pronounced in federal states, remain largely neglected. By transferring an international concept of integration policy to Switzerland’s cantonal level, we show that cantonal variations of integration policy are not only considerable but even occasionally exceed international variance. Subsequent outcome analyses further undermine the relevance of cantonal integration polices, suggesting that liberal and culturally pluralist policies moderate immigrant educational inequality in schools. As the results of our Bayesian multilevel analyses show, a combination of different policy aspects representing inclusive cantonal integration policies has the greatest potential to ameliorate immigrants’ equal opportunities in school. Accounting for immigrants’ heterogeneity in terms of linguistic and social background moreover reveals that integration policy differently affects various groups of immigrants.