|
on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Renate Lorenz |
| Abstract: | How does the arrival of a new immigrant group affect earlier generations of immigrants? Do group relations and self-identification change? Previous research on ethnic boundaries is usually restricted to a two-group paradigm and primarily focuses on the majority group’s perspective. In contrast, this study analyzes how the arrival of refugees in Germany influenced previous immigrants of Turkish and Polish origin by exploiting regional and temporal variation in refugee immigration. I combine macro data about refugees with individual longitudinal data of a large-scale German panel survey (SOEP) from 2012 to 2018 based on a random sample. Using fixed effects estimations, this study finds that an increasing proportion of refugees in a county increased concerns about immigration and decreased self-reported discrimination among Turkish (N = 676 respondents, n = 2, 914 person-years) and Polish (N = 513 respondents, n = 2, 141 person-years) respondents. Moreover, Turkish immigrants showed a tendency to feel more German and felt closer to Turkey at the same time. Poles also felt more German but not closer to Poland. These results are in line with the theoretical assumptions that minority groups tend to distance themselves from new immigrants, and use the opportunity to improve their own social position by strengthening their identification with the majority and/or with their own ethnic group. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1225 |
| By: | Bhatiya, Apurav (University of Birmingham, CAGE, JPAL); Kadam, Shanta (University of Birmingham) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how highly visible irregular migration influences immigration attitudes. Using high-frequency data on small boat crossings from 2018 to 2024 linked with British Election Study panel data, we exploit variation in survey timing to identify short-term effects. Recent arrivals reduce support for immigration, especially among right-leaning media consumers. Left-leaning media can offset these effects, but only among respondents with low baseline concern. Perceived increases in immigration reinforce these patterns, consistent with confirmation bias. Small but salient events can disproportionately shape public sentiment through media framing and prior beliefs, helping explain recent policy tightening, even toward legal migration routes. |
| Keywords: | irregular migration, migration attitudes, migration policy, media framing JEL Classification: F22, J15, J18, L82 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:757 |
| By: | Kulshreshtha, Shobhit |
| Abstract: | Characteristics of a place, such as healthcare access and the local environment, influence healthcare utilization. Refugees resettled in developed countries are often assigned locations based on the host country's assignment policies, yet the impact of initial placement on their healthcare usage remains understudied. I use Dutch administrative data to examine the effect of conditions in the initial municipality on healthcare utilization of refugees, leveraging the random assignment of refugees. Being assigned to a municipality with a higher healthcare utilization as measured by depression medication usage, hospital visits, and general practitioner costs among non-refugees increases healthcare utilization of refugees. I provide suggestive evidence on possible mechanisms and find that local healthcare access and socio-economic status of the municipality play an important role in healthcare utilization of refugees. This study contributes to the ongoing policy debates on providing separate and more targeted healthcare services for the refugee population. |
| Keywords: | refugees, healthcare utilization, place effects, quasi-experiment |
| JEL: | J15 I15 I18 R23 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1622 |
| By: | Barabasch, Anton (Friedrich Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany); Cygan-Rehm, Kamila (Dresden University of Technology); Heineck, Guido (University of Bamberg); Vogler, Sebastian (Dresden University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines internal migration from a lifetime perspective using unique data on detailed residential biographies of individuals born in Germany between 1944 and 1986. We first describe life-cycle patterns of internal mobility and potential differences across space, time, and socio-demographic groups. We find substantial differences across the life course, with major location changes around important educational decisions and striking differences across groups, especially by educational attainment. We then investigate causality in the substantial education-mobility gradient. For identification, we exploit two policy-induced sources of variation, each shifting towards better education at a different margin of the ability distribution. Using a difference-in-differences and a regression discontinuity design, we find no effect of these policies on internal mobility. |
| Keywords: | compulsory schooling, education, Germany, internal migration, regional mobility, enrollment cutoffs |
| JEL: | I26 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17948 |
| By: | McEvoy, Olan; Plaumann, Lucian |
| Abstract: | Across advanced economies in Europe, the agricultural sector relies heavily on seasonal migrant workers. Despite being declared ‘essential’ by many governments during the coronavirus pandemic, these workers are widely documented to face extremely poor working and living conditions, along with low wages. While existing literature has primarily focused on countries in southern Europe, this paper examines Germany’s agricultural sector as facing similar challenges in securing migrant workers’ rights. Around 300, 000 migrant workers come to Germany each year for the harvest season, with most now arriving from Romania and Poland. We find that the employment of this workforce is driven by structural changes in Germany’s agricultural sector, the Europeanisation of migration policy, the deregulation of the German labour market, the proliferation of new employment categories, and the dominance of sectoral business interests in policymaking. The German case illustrates both the difficulty of regulating precarious, low-wage work in a sector traditionally weak in labour organising, and how the Europe-wide nature of the issue means that, without coordinated action by the labour movement across the EU, the ‘race to the bottom’ in this sector will continue. |
| Date: | 2023–11–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:8thxd_v1 |
| By: | Ottosson, Lillit (Stockholm University, Uppsala Center for Labor Studies (UCLS) and UIL, Uppsala University; IFAU); Vikman, Ulrika (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | We study an active labor market program aimed at immigrants with very limited language skills. The program consists of a three-month on-the-job training program in a regular workplace, facilitated by bilingual caseworkers speaking the participant’s native language. The aim of the program is to improve participants’ language skills and to provide labor market experience. We apply dynamic inverse probability weighting to account for dynamic selection into the program. After an initial lock-in effect, we find that the program leads to sizable increases in employment throughout the three-year follow-up period. These effects are explained by both subsidized and regular employment, and are mainly driven by women. |
| Keywords: | Immigrants; Integration; On-the-job training; Language support |
| JEL: | H75 I38 J15 |
| Date: | 2025–06–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2025_009 |
| By: | Dorkhanov, Ilia; Sokolov, Boris (HSE University) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the relationship between individual religiosity and attitudes towards immigrants of different religious backgrounds in Europe. Using data from the 7th wave of the European Social Survey (2014-2015), we examine the influence of individual denomination and subjective religiosity level on hostility towards Muslim immigrants and the importance of immigrants’ Christian background. Our analysis, guided by social identity theory and religious compassion theory, reveals mixed support for these theoretical frameworks. While Christians and individuals with higher levels of subjective religiosity value a Christian immigrant background more than their non-religious counterparts, neither denomination nor subjective religiosity level significantly influence attitudes towards Muslim immigrants. We also conduct an exploratory analysis which shows that country-level average religiosity and prevalent denomination do not directly affect the dependent variables but leverage the effect of subjective religiosity on both. These findings suggest that, in the European context, religious social identity and religious compassion may operate selectively, influencing attitudes based on perceived religious closeness and potentially being shaped by broader societal factors. |
| Date: | 2025–06–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:q96fe_v1 |
| By: | David Jinkins; Elira Kuka; Claudio Labanca |
| Abstract: | Research on the social safety net examines its effects on recipients and their families. We show that these effects extend beyond recipients’ families. Using a regression discontinuity design and administrative data, we study a Danish policy that cut welfare benefits for refugees, increasing crime among affected individuals. Linking refugees to neighbors, we find increased crime among non-Danish neighbors, with spillovers persisting even after direct effects stabilize. Accounting for these spillovers raises the marginal value of public funds by 20%. We explore several mechanisms and find evidence consistent with peer effects among young individuals from the same country of origin. |
| JEL: | I38 K42 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33926 |
| By: | Akira IGARASHI; Hatsuru MORITA; Yoshikuni ONO |
| Abstract: | Ethno-racial majority jurors often issue discriminatory sentences against minority perpetrators, particularly when the victim is co-ethnic. Despite extensive research, the mechanisms and non-Western contexts remain understudied. We propose that the mechanisms driving interethnic discriminatory sentencing may be either punitive, reflecting a motivation to punish out-group members, or sympathetic, indicating a tendency to favor in-group members. Our survey experiment involved 4, 000 Japanese citizens acting as jurors in a hypothetical criminal case. Contrary to our initial hypotheses, we found no significant differences in sentencing based on the ethnicity of the perpetrator or victim. However, sentences were significantly longer when the perpetrator was Chinese and the victim was Japanese. Further analysis revealed that respondents who viewed immigrants as more threatening were more punitive toward foreign perpetrators, regardless of the victim’s ethnicity. These findings suggest that punitive mechanisms, driven by perceived threats, predominantly influence discriminatory sentencing, whereas sympathetic mechanisms play a lesser role. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:25052 |