Welfare Provision beyond National Boundaries: The Politics of Migration and Elderly Care in Italy

Abstract

In reaction to a growing need for elderly care services, Italian families have engaged migrant workers to care for their dependent family member. Italian social and migration policies have favoured and reinforced this practice, which is puzzling given the strong antiimmigrant sentiments currently present in Italy. While institutional factors can partly explain policy outcomes, we need to look at the interconnectedness of welfare regimes and migration to better understand Italian developments. The presence of migrant care workers allowed Italy not to reform its elderly care system. At the same time the familistic Italian welfare regime helps to explain the broadly shared positive attitude towards migrant care workers, which has contributed to expansive immigration policies.