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This paper is an empirical study of what solidarity in a Western European healthcare system means today. Drawing upon empirical research on the 2015 refugee cohort's health needs and their health-seeking behaviour, it unites claims from the literature on solidarity in the fields of migration and healthcare. I argue that the Austrian healthcare system not only is an example of 'civic solidarity' in the form of institutionalised obligations to citizens but that it also enacts political forms of solidarity and produces political inclusion for marginalised groups such as refugees. My findings show that being entitled to and accessing services in the healthcare system holds meaning beyond the provision of care: It enables to act autonomously, to build familiar relationships with Austrian institutions, inclusion via the personal electronic health card and to support others in the same solidaristic system. These insights can be used to raise awareness about the inclusional function of healthcare services among practitioners. They also show how solidarity-based healthcare systems can be a motor for shaping positive relationships between immigrants and the host country, and point to additional modes of solidarity in the context of forced migration next to civil society and nonstate support structures. This paper builds upon ethnographic data that were collected between 2018 and 2020 in Vienna, Austria (observational notes before, during and after medical consultations with refugees; interviews with them; interviews with healthcare practitioners and other care providers).

The abstract is available here: https://uscholar.univie.ac.at/o:1624663

Healthcare in the context of forced migration is not only about meeting medical needs. Using the services of the public health system is also important for political inclusion, as the example of Austria shows. Possessing a personal electronic health card or sharing the waiting room at the general practitioner's gives refugees a sense of belonging as patients among other patients.

This meta-study investigates recent research on the effects of immigration on the welfare state in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Due to the 2015 arrival of high numbers of refugees into Europe, the focus is on studies about asylum seekers, recognized refugees and, more generally, on forced migrants. In total, twenty recently published studies are scrutinized in a scoping review. Thereby, fiscal and macroeconomic consequences as well as the integration potential in the labour market are key topics. The studies included in the current meta-analysis yield diverse results and often do not find clear positive or negative effects, but present a variety of scenarios with differing assumptions. Our findings highlight several research gaps. First, existence as well as access to relevant data is scarce, especially at the individual level. Moreover, the funding situation for studies in the field deserves closer attention. Given the timeframe, there is a paucity of longitudinal data. Second, the majority of studies fail to clearly distinguish between different groups of migrants. Third, various recent studies have been commissioned by public or private sponsors and have not undergone scientific peer review. Moreover, a lack of selfreflexivity about possible limitations can be observed. Regarding future routes for research, two findings can be highlighted. First, nearly all studies stress the importance of human capital as a key factor for successful labour market integration. This includes educational levels as well as professional qualifications. The use of this human capital in the host country's labour market depends crucially on policy efforts. Second, results vary substantially by nationality, legal status, gender and other characteristics of immigrants.