Abstract
The first aim of this study is to investigate the role of the EU Blue Card programme implemented in 2012 in Germany. In particular, we aim to explore the impact on the participation in cultural activities of first-generation non-European Union (EU) and non-European Economic Area (EEA) migrants, such as attendance to cinema, concerts and theatre. The second aim is to examine the impact of cultural activities on subjective well-being (SWB), measured by life satisfaction. We compare the cultural participation and life satisfaction between the treatment group that is the non-EU/EEA first-generation immigrants and the control group that consists, not only of natives and second-generation immigrants but also composes of EU/EEA first-generation immigrants who are not eligible to the programme. We will apply a sharp and a fuzzy regression discontinuity design (RDD) within a seemingly unrelated regression equations (SURE) system using the Ordered Probit method. The empirical analysis relies on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) survey over the period 2015–2018. The results show that the treated subjects experience an increase in cultural participation activities and an improvement in their SWB, as a result of the EU Blue Card programme, compared to the control group. Participation in classical music performance, opera or theatre influences more the SWB compared to other cultural activities. Policies that promote labour market integration and participation in cultural activities will enable immigrants to integrate into the social norms of the host societies and improve their SWB.
Highlights
Labour and refugee migration have long been an integral and significant part of the history of Europe
In panel A, we report the sharp regression discontinuity design (RDD) when the cut-off point or threshold corresponds to the minimum salaries required for the European Union (EU) Blue Card programme and those employed in shortage occupations, as we have shown in Table 1, while in panel B we present the results for the threshold of high-skilled occupations
According to the coefficient γ4 of the interaction term Treat CP in regression (2), we accept hypothesis H3, implying that even though both treated and control groups improve their subjective well-being (SWB) based on the coefficient γ3, participation in cinema and jazz-pop concerts contribute to higher positive changes in life satisfaction of the treated group which comprises first-generation non-EU/Economic Area (EEA) migrants, compared to the control group that consists of natives and EU-migrants
Summary
Countries in Europe and across the globe have adopted different migration policies aimed at the economic and political integration and social
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
