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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Marco Pecoraro; Anita Manatschal; Eva G. T. Green; Philippe Wanner |
| Abstract: | The marked increase of asylum seekers arriving in Western Europe after 2014 has renewed debates on the policy measures countries should put into place to support their integration. Yet, knowledge about the links between integration policy and broader labour market, sociocultural or psychological adjustment in destination countries is still limited. Exploiting a comprehensive integration policy reform in Switzerland, and using survey data from the Health Monitoring of the Swiss Migrant Population, our difference-in-difference analyses reveal substantial policy effects. Provisionally admitted Sri Lankans benefiting from the reform enjoy a higher employment probability (plus 30 percentage points), increased income levels (plus 60 per cent), better language skills and feel less lonely or without a homeland relative to comparable Sri Lankan asylum seekers who did not benefit from the reform. Robustness checks using register data confirm the beneficial policy effect on labour market participation for the whole population of provisionally admitted individuals. |
| Keywords: | Asylum, Integration Policy, Labour Market, Sociocultural adaptation, Psychological Wellbeing, Difference-in-Differences |
| JEL: | F22 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irn:wpaper:19-08&r=all |
| By: | Stefan Jestl (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Michael Landesmann (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Sebastian Leitner (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw); Barbara Wanek-Zajic |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses labour market integration in Austria of non-European refugees originating from middle and low income countries for the period 2009-2018. We assess their probability of being employed in comparison to non-humanitarian migrants, European third country immigrants and natives. We draw on a register based panel dataset covering the complete labour market careers of all individuals residing in Austria. We control for macro level explanatory variables (e.g. the labour market situation at the time and the place of settlement) and individual characteristics. The analysis shows that initial refugee employment gaps are large in the first years when labour market access is difficult. After a period of seven years the unconditional gap between refugees and natives declines to 30 percentage points, similar to the one of non-humanitarian migrants, but the gap is still further decreasing. After controlling for a set of additional explanatory variables, the conditional gap amounts to only 10 percentage points at the same time. Moreover, our analysis provides insights into differences between employment gaps across population subgroups of immigrant groups and natives by gender, age and education level. Disclaimer Research for this paper was financed by the Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Project No. 17166). Support provided by Oesterreichische Nationalbank for this research is gratefully acknowledged. |
| Keywords: | Refugees; Migrants; labour market participation; longitudinal research |
| JEL: | J61 J15 F22 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wii:wpaper:167&r=all |
| By: | Hardoy, Inés (Institute of Social Research); Zhang, Tao (Ragnar Frisch Centre for economic research) |
| Abstract: | Large waves of refugees have arrived in Europe on a regular basis in recent decades. We know little about the impact of labour market policies intended to improve the labour market integration of refugees and their reunited family members. Using rich longitudinal data from Norway of the past 30 years, we study the impact of different labour market programs for refugees and their reunited families. We find no lock-in effects while the program is in process. On the contrary, program participation seems to function as a springboard to working life. Work practice seems to be particularly suitable for refugees to enhance employability while training enhances ordinary education. Wage subsidies do not seem to have the desired impact and can be an indication that it may have been used too early in the integration process. |
| Keywords: | refugees; labour market programs; effect evaluation; time-of-event analysis |
| JEL: | C41 J22 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2019–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2019_008&r=all |
| By: | Eliasson, Kent (Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis, Östersund, Sweden. Umeå School of Business, Economics and Statistics, Umeå University, Sweden.); Haapanen, Mika (School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, Finland); Westerlund, Olle (Department of Economics, Umeå University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyse long-term changes in the regional distribution and migration flows of university graduates in Finland and Sweden. The study is based on detailed longitudinal population register data, including information on high school grades and parental background. We find a distinct pattern of skill divergence across regions in both countries over the last three decades. The uneven distribution of human capital has been reinforced by the mobility patterns among university graduates, for whom regional sorting by high school grades and parental background is evident. Our findings indicate that traditional measures of human capital concentration most likely underscore actual regional differences in productive skills. |
| Keywords: | Human capital; university graduates; migration; school grades; parental education; local labour market areas |
| JEL: | J24 J61 R10 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2019–11–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:umnees:0966&r=all |
| By: | Galina L. Volkova (National Research University Higher School of Economics); Egor A. Nikishin (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Mobility of highly qualified personnel between countries and regions is closely related to the issue of the effective distribution of human resources and the prospects for the innovative development of the state. The focus of this study is the interregional mobility of Russian researchers: the geographical movements of scientists between different regions (subjects of the Russian Federation). The empirical base of the study is the data obtained in 2016-2017 during the questionnaire survey of 1880 Russian researchers. Two main aspects are analyzed: already accomplished movements of researchers (moving for the educational or working purposes) and the “attitude to mobility” - readiness to move in the future. The features of researchers depending on their mobility pattern are analyzed. Among the most researchers who had the experience of moving in the past (both for education and work purposes) develops the “attitude to mobility”. In the future, they are more willing to consider various options for moving both “for interest” (to participate in an important large-scale project), and “for money” (to get the job with acceptable level of remuneration). There exists a category of Russian researchers who are ready to move “anywhere”: both abroad and within Russia, to large and to small cities. Researchers who are not ready to move to the place that they consider as a small town in a remote region, are concerned about the prospects for professional growth, difficulties for the family, a different lifestyle, change of professional and personal social circle. These aspects should be taken into account in the development of various programs and measures aimed to stimulate internal academic mobility in Russia. |
| Keywords: | academic mobility, human capital, researchers, scientific career, mobility patterns, readiness to move |
| JEL: | I23 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:103sti2019&r=all |
| By: | Bernd Genser (University of Konstanz (retired), Konstanz, Germany); Robert Holzmann (Austrian National Bank (governor) and Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria) |
| Abstract: | As part of globalization, individuals increasingly spend part of their working or retirement life abroad and want to keep or move their acquired rights, accumulated retirement assets, or benefits in payment freely across borders. This raises the issue of the portability and taxation of cross-border pensions in accumulation and disbursement. This paper addresses both portability and taxation issues from the angle of which type of pension scheme – defined benefits (DB) or defined contributions (DC) – and which regime of cross border pension taxation is more aligned with globalization in establishing individual fairness, fiscal fairness, and bureaucratic efficiency. The paper summarizes the limited literature on portability and taxation of cross-border pensions and concludes that the current taxation approach is unsustainable in a global setting. We present a proposal to move from deferred toward front-loaded taxation of pensions and point at the gains in fairness for individuals and states and some other attractive features of this regime change with respect to taxation and portability. |
| Keywords: | portability of pensions, pension taxation, international taxation, international migration, model tax convention |
| JEL: | H55 H24 H87 F22 |
| Date: | 2019–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:knz:dpteco:1904&r=all |
| By: | Michael A. Zabek |
| Abstract: | If someone lives in an economically depressed place, they were probably born there. The presence of people with local ties - a preference to live in their birthplace - leads to smaller migration responses. Smaller migration responses to wage declines lead to lower real incomes and make real incomes more sensitive to subsequent demand shocks, a form of hysteresis. Local ties can persist for generations. Place-based policies, like tax subsidies, targeting depressed places cause smaller distortions since few people want to move to depressed places. Place-based policies targeting productive places increase aggregate productivity, since they lead to more migration. |
| Keywords: | Migration ; Decline ; Economic development, technological change, and growth ; Labor and demographic economics ; Local labor markets |
| JEL: | J61 R23 E62 R58 H31 D61 J11 |
| Date: | 2019–11–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2019-80&r=all |
| By: | David C. Maré (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Jacques Poot (Vrije Universiteit) |
| Abstract: | Does commuting increase workers' exposure to difference and diversity? The uneven spatial distribution of different population subgroups within cities is well documented. Individual neighbourhoods are generally less diverse than cities as a whole. Auckland is New Zealand's most diverse city, but the impacts of diversity are likely to be less if interactions between different groups are limited by spatial separation. Studies of spatial sociodemographic diversity generally measure the diversity of local areas based on who lives in them. In this study, we examine measures of exposure to local cultural diversity based on where people work as well as where they live. Our measure of cultural diversity is based on country of birth, with ethnicity breakdowns for the New Zealand (NZ) born. The study also examines whether the relationship between commuting and exposure to diversity differs between workers with different skills or types of job. The study focuses on diversity and commuting patterns within Auckland, using 2013 census microdata, and using local diversity measures calculated for each census area unit. We find that commuters who self-identify as NZ-born Europeans and residents born in England (together accounting for close to half of all commuters) are, of all cultural groups, the least exposed to diversity in the neighbourhoods where they live. Overall, commuting to the workplace raises exposure to cultural diversity, and to the greatest extent for these two groups. |
| Keywords: | Cultural diversity; exposure to difference; exposure to diversity; residential segregation; commuting; Auckland |
| JEL: | J15 R23 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:19_20&r=all |
| By: | Nayyar, Deepak |
| Abstract: | This paper sketches a profile of international labour migration over the past fifty years and draws a distinction between different categories of labour flows in the contemporary world economy. It examines the underlying factors with an emphasis on structural determinants at a macrolevel. It explains why the gathering momentum of globalization has coincided with a discernible slowdown in migration during the last quarter of twentieth century, to analyse how globalization might influence emigration pressures on the supply side and immigration needs on the demand side. It argues that globalization has set in motion forces which are creating a demand for labour mobility across borders, as also developing institutions on the supply side to meet this demand. The future prospects are also bound to be shaped by demographic change and population imbalances, arising in particular from the ageing of industrial societies. In conclusion, the paper suggests that the time has come to reflect upon the necessity of formulating international rules or creating international institutions for the governance of cross-border movements of people. |
| Keywords: | International Development |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:widerw:295520&r=all |
| By: | Martijn Dröes (Universiteit van Amsterdam); Hans R.A. Koster (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | The number of refugees around the world has increased substantially in the last decade. To cope with refugee flows, many countries have built refugee centers (RCs) for refugees to await the outcome of their asylum procedure. The opening of such centers often leads to considerable opposition from the local population. Using detailed housing transactions data from the Netherlands over the period 1990-2015, we examine locals' attitudes towards immigration by investigating households' willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid living near RCs. Comparing the price developments of opened RCs and those that are planned, we show that the opening of an RC decreases house prices within 2km by 3-6%. Using micro-data on home buyers' characteristics and employing a non-parametric hedonic pricing method, we identify households' individual preferences. We show that attitudes of higher income households towards RCs tend to be more negative, while those of foreign-born households are more positive. The WTP is also more negative for larger RCs. These results imply that when opening RCs, it is advisable to keep them relatively small and locate them in more ethnically diverse areas. |
| Keywords: | immigration, house prices, refugee centers, household preferences |
| JEL: | R31 E02 O18 |
| Date: | 2019–11–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20190075&r=all |