Labour Market Outcomes Of Immigrants Research Articles

Do Co-Ethnic Neighbourhoods Affect the Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants? Longitudinal Evidence from Australia

Unlike the situation in other immigrant-receiving countries, the impact of co-ethnic neighbourhoods on immigrants’ life outcomes has been understudied in Australia. In addition, because of reliance on cross-sectional and sample survey data, existing Australian studies have not taken advantage of recent methodological progress that addresses selection bias. In that context, this paper estimates the impact of the size of co-ethnic neighbourhoods on labour force participation, employment, hours worked and income of immigrants using microdata from the 2006–16 Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset that spans three censuses. Drawing on this unique dataset, the paper applies a series of OLS regression models that address issues of individual and location sorting by applying individual-fixed effects, controlling for residential mobility, duration of residence and using an exogenous measure of co-ethnic neighbourhood size. We find a small significant negative effect on labour participation and wage, particularly for the non-tertiary educated and immigrants with low English proficiency. However, when we control for residential mobility, residence in co-ethnic neighbourhoods is no longer statistically significant, which highlights the importance of stringent methodological choices that control for settlement trajectories, while revealing that movement toward smaller co-ethnic neighbourhoods is associated with increased labour force participation. Our findings suggest that efforts by the Australian government to settle immigrants in regional areas with a limited migrant population should not affect the labour market outcomes of immigrants given that ethnic enclaves do not facilitate labour market integration in Australia.

Social identity and labor market outcomes of immigrants

This paper explores the relationship between social identity and labor market outcomes of immigrants. Using survey data from Italy, we provide robust evidence that integrated immigrants, who state they have strong feelings of belonging to the societies of both the host and home country, have higher employment rates than do assimilated immigrants, who identify exclusively with the host country culture. Unlike previous literature, our findings indicate that assimilation does not necessarily provide a clear labor market advantage over immigrants who identify only with their original ethnic group. The positive labor market effect of integration is especially large for women, low-skilled, and immigrants with a brief experience in Italy and arriving in Italy at older ages, who generally face stronger barriers to entry into the labor market. The main mechanism driving the positive effect of multiple social identities points to belonging to local networks that ensure in-group favoritism and sharing of information.

The Differential Impact of COVID-19 on Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants in Canada.

Based on Canadian Labour Force Survey data, we estimate the differential effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on seven labour market outcomes, and separate between recent and established immigrants relative to domestic-born Canadians. We also use Recentered Influence Function (RIF) unconditional quantile regressions to estimate the differential effects across the distribution of outcomes. We find that the pandemic had an adverse effect on the labour market outcomes for all workers, and that the adverse effects were generally larger for immigrants and especially recent immigrants as well as for immigrants at the bottom of the outcome distributions. The adverse effects were generally larger at the earliest waves of the pandemic, and for recent immigrants who were female, less educated, and those with child responsibilities, and for jobs at greater risk of contact with the pandemic.

Exploring the role of legal status and neighborhood social capital on immigrant economic integration in Los Angeles

Existing research has emphasized immigration policy and social capital as two crucial elements of reception that influence immigrant labor market outcomes. While much attention has been paid to these two factors in isolation, a limited body of empirical wo

Comparative analysis of immigration processes in Canada and Germany: empirical results from case studies in the health and IT sectors

ABSTRACT Twelve qualitative case studies in German and Canadian hospitals and IT companies were used in this mixed-methods study analysing the labour market outcomes of immigrants. The reported case studies investigate the immigrants’ recognition, integration process and the usability of foreign qualifications, skills and work experiences in the labour market. Furthermore, the strategies and rationales of employers and employees within the recruiting process are analysed. Here, the focus lies on the transferability and obstacles of cultural and social capital across country borders as well as the relevant framework conditions. This paper refers to Bourdieu’s approach towards different types of capital as well as the rational choice theory. The results demonstrate that immigrants in both countries face more obstacles accessing the labour market within the health sector than within the IT sector. The context of the recruiting situation strongly affects the strategies and behaviour of the employers or the recruiters. Within these sector- and country-specific confines, individual factors determine the immigrants’ labour market success. Furthermore, the sector and the country affect the relevance of each individual factor in the recruiting process.

Does Immigrant Selection Policy Matter? Labor Market Integration of Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel and the United States

Immigration policy debates currently focus on restricting immigration in favor of the highly skilled with the assumption that highly skilled immigrants will be better able to join the labor market and contribute to the economy. However, few studies empirically test the impact of immigrant selection policy by comparing labor market outcomes of immigrants from a single origin in multiple destinations. Fewer still address how race (specifically blackness) may impact the utility of these selection policies. This paper fills this gap by determining Ethiopian immigrants’ labor force participation, occupational status, and self-employment in the United States and Israel—countries with and without immigrant selection policies respectively. We find that Ethiopians experience similar labor market disadvantages relative to the native-born in both countries. These results indicate that rather than selection policy being the driver of labor market success, racial discrimination likely plays the largest role in determining Ethiopian (black) African immigrants’ labor market incorporation in both places.

Occupational Recognition and Immigrant Labor Market Outcomes

We analyze how the formal recognition of foreign qualifications affects immigrants’ labor market outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on a novel German data set that links respondents’ survey information to their administrative records, allowing us to observe immigrants at monthly intervals before, during, and after their application for occupational recognition. We find that 3 years after obtaining recognition, immigrants earn 19.8% higher wages and are 24.5 percentage points more likely to be employed than immigrants in the control group. We further document that occupational recognition leads to full convergence of immigrants’ earnings to those of their native counterparts.

Immigrant Naturalisation, Employment and Occupational Status in Western Europe.

Does citizenship facilitate access to employment and higher status jobs? Existing studies have produced mixed results across mostly single case studies in Europe and North America. To investigate whether this heterogeneity depends on varying institutional and socio-economic conditions, in this paper we analyse the labour market outcomes of immigrants who have naturalised in 13 West European countries. Our empirical analysis draws on data from the 2014 European Labour Force Survey Ad Hoc Module on immigrants. In order to cope with the selective nature of the naturalisation process, we employ a bivariate probit model that accounts for unobserved characteristics of naturalising immigrants. Our main results show a positive relationship across these destination countries between citizenship and the probability of employment, as well as between citizenship and occupational status, but only for immigrant men from developing countries. For women and for migrants from developed countries, we observe no significant differences between citizens and non-citizens. Liberalising the access to citizenship does not diminish the positive returns on employment from naturalisation. For immigrant men from developing countries there is evidence of a trade-off between easier access to citizenship and the returns on occupational status.

Relevance of qualifications and work experience in the recruiting of foreign‐trained immigrants – comparative insights from the Health and ICT Sectors in Germany and Canada

Germany and Canada differ significantly regarding their migration policy as well as the structures of the national labour markets and their educational systems. This paper aims to analyse how these differences affect the labour market outcomes of immigrants and the usability of foreign qualifications and work experiences by using the health and ICT sectors as example. The comparison focuses on the question how qualifications and work experience serve as signals and are screened for in the recruiting process of enterprises. The results show clear differences as well as several commonalities between the two compared countries.

Immigrant Selectivity Effects on Health, Labor Market, and Educational Outcomes

Over the past two decades, a growing body of research has focused on immigrant selectivity and its effects on immigrant health, immigrant labor market outcomes, and children of immigrants’ educational outcomes. This review provides a theoretical overview of immigrant selectivity and its effects, and critically examines research on the effects of immigrant selectivity. Existing research suggests that positive immigrant selectivity helps explain paradoxical patterns of success among immigrants and their children in health, the labor market, and education. However, future research is needed that uses more rigorous research designs and measures, links immigrant selectivity and outcomes across domains, identifies the mechanisms through which immigrant selectivity matters, and considers different types of immigrant selectivity. I conclude by highlighting promising new studies along these lines and argue that immigrant selectivity is a central part of the process through which immigration contributes to inequality.

Human capital accumulation: Evidence from immigrants in low-income countries

This paper offers new evidence on the theory of human capital accumulation. The current findings in developed countries have documented that immigrants' earnings growth exceeds that of natives and that immigrants upgrade their occupations over time. Three possible explanations for these observations are suggested in the literature: 1) immigrants accumulate more human capital than natives, 2) immigrants are not able to fully transfer their skills, so over time, they restore the value of source-country human capital, and 3) immigrants are more productive than natives because they are positively selected on ability. This study investigates the labor market outcomes of immigrants in low-income countries and finds that immigrants earn more than comparable natives and work in better-paid occupations. Over time the gap in earnings and occupational distribution between immigrants and natives narrows. This observation is more consistent with the predictions of human capital accumulation theory than with skill transferability and selection theories.

Legal status and immigrants’ labour market outcomes: comparative evidence from a quasi-experiment in Western and Southern Europe

ABSTRACTImproved legal status has been found to be associated with better labour market outcomes for immigrants, although causal effects remain difficult to ascertain. This article contributes to the debate on the ‘citizenship/legal status premium' by providing quasi-experimental evidence based on the 2007 EU Eastern Enlargement, following which immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria, the new EU Member States, acquired the EU citizen status. The article also contributes to the literature on legal status effects, mainly focused on single-country studies, by comparing ‘older' destination countries of Western Europe with ‘newer' ones of Southern Europe. Results show that while EU citizenship acquisition is associated with higher employment rates in Western European countries, the association is null or negative in Southern European countries, where immigrants are more strongly urged to be employed. On the other hand, EU citizenship acquisition is more strongly associated with improvements in skill levels in Southern Europe, where immigrants are usually segregated in unskilled jobs, but only among men. In these countries, EU citizenship acquisition positively affects male self-employment chances as well. The article concludes that possible effects of improved legal status should be interpreted in light of different institutional contexts and models of immigrants’ labour market incorporation.

Immigrant Naturalisation, Employment and Occupational Status in Western Europe

Does citizenship facilitate access to employment and higher status jobs? Existing case studies have produced mixed results across mostly single case studies in Europe and North America. To investigate whether this heterogeneity depends on varying institutional and socio-economic conditions, in this paper we analyse the labour market outcomes of immigrants who have naturalised in 13 West European countries. Our empirical analysis draws on data from the 2014 European Labour Force Survey Ad Hoc Module on immigrants. In order to cope with the selective nature of the naturalisation process, we employ a bivariate probit model that accounts for unobserved characteristics of naturalising immigrants. Our main results show a positive relationship across these destination countries between citizenship and the probability of employment for both immigrant men and women, as well as between citizenship and occupational status for men. Liberalising the access to citizenship does not diminish the positive returns on employment from naturalisation. For immigrant men there is evidence of a trade-off between easier access to citizenship and the returns on occupational status.

Occupational Recognition and Immigrant Labor Market Outcomes

In this paper, we analyze how the formal recognition of immigrants’ foreign occupational qualifications affects their subsequent labor market outcomes. The empirical analysis is based on a novel German data set that links respondents’ survey information to their administrative records, allowing us to observe immigrants at monthly intervals before, during and after their application for occupational recognition. Our findings show substantial employment and wage gains from occupational recognition. After three years, the full recognition of immigrants’ foreign qualifications increases their employment rates by 24.5 percentage points and raises their hourly wages by 19.8 percent relative to immigrants without recognition. We show that the increase in employment is largely driven by a higher propensity to work in regulated occupations. Relating our findings to the economic assimilation of immigrants in Germany, we further document that occupational recognition leads to substantially faster convergence of immigrants’ earnings to those of their native counterparts.

Naturalization and labor market performance of immigrants in Germany

AbstractNaturalization may be a relevant policy instrument affecting immigrant integration in host‐country labor markets. We study the effect of naturalization on labor market outcomes of immigrants in Germany. We apply recent survey data and exploit a reform of naturalization rules in an instrumental variable estimation. In our sample of recent immigrants, linear regression yields positive correlations between naturalization and beneficial labor market outcomes. Once we account for the endogeneity of naturalization, most coefficients decline in magnitude and lose statistical significance: male immigrants’ labor market outcomes do not benefit significantly from naturalization. Naturalization reduces the risks of unemployment and welfare dependence for female immigrants. For males and females, the propensity to hold a permanent contract increases as a consequence of naturalization. The results are robust to modifications of samples and the instrument.

Employment Outcomes of Ethnic Minorities in Spain: Towards Increasing Economic Incorporation among Immigrants and the Second Generation?

This article examines the labour market outcomes of immigrants in Spain, a country that has become a migration destination only since the end of the 1990s. Differentiating between first and second generation of immigrant descent, we compare the labour market involvement of the main ethnic groups with the majority group. One particular focus is to understand which minorities have been hit the hardest by the Great Recession. To this end, we use data from the European Union Labour Force Survey for the years 2008 and 2014, and more specifically the two ad-hoc modules on the labour market situation of migrants. Analysing men and women separately, we run a set of multivariate logistic regression models to control for compositional differences. In this way, we examine ethnic gaps not only in labour force participation but also in the degree of underutilisation of human capital, measured as workers’ level of over-education as well as the incidence of involuntary part-time employment. Our results show that while most origin groups do not show significantly lower employment participation than the majority group, the employment quality of immigrants in terms of involuntary part-time work and over-education is substantially worse, especially since the crisis.

Naturalization and Labor Market Performance of Immigrants in Germany

Naturalization may be a relevant policy instrument affecting immigrant integration in host-country labor markets. We study the effect of naturalization on labor market outcomes of immigrants in Germany. We apply recent survey data and exploit a reform of naturalization rules in an instrumental variable estimation. In our sample of recent immigrants, linear regression yields positive correlations between naturalization and beneficial labor market outcomes. Once we account for the endogeneity of naturalization most coefficients decline in magnitude and lose statistical significance: male immigrants' labor market outcomes do not benefit significantly from naturalization. Naturalization reduces the risks of unemployment and welfare dependence for female immigrants. For males and females, the propensity to hold a permanent contract increase as a consequence of naturalization. The results are robust to modifications of samples and the instrument.

Intermarriage and the labour-force participation of immigrants: differences by gender

ABSTRACTStudies of the impact of intermarriage on labour market outcomes of immigrants focus on labour-force participants. However, intermarriage itself can change participation options and heterogeneously so for men and women. Using data from the 2010 American Community Survey, we find that the raw impact of intermarriage is to reduce labour-force participation for men and increase it for women. However, upon controlling for observable and unobservable selection into intermarriage, the gains from intermarriage for women are reversed. The importance of human capital controls of education and experience in determining the labour-force participation of married immigrants is underscored. Birthplace fixed effects play an important role in explaining the gender differences in labour-force participation among intermarried immigrants.

Explaining the labor market gaps between immigrants and natives in the OECD

In most OECD-countries immigrants have lower employment and higher unemployment than natives. The gap in labor market outcomes is larger in countries with more immigrant friendly attitudes. This paper suggests that in countries where labor market institutions are less competitive, native workers face less direct wage competition from immigration. As a result, the general population is more immigrant-friendly and income inequality is dampened. On the other hand, employment among immigrants suffers, thwarting the potential economic benefits from immigration. Empirical analysis of 19–28 OECD countries using Bayesian model averaging to cope with the model selection problem, provide support for the relevance of labor market institutions against other plausible explanations of immigrant labor market outcomes. In particular, the unemployment gap is bigger in countries where collective bargaining agreements cover a larger share of the labor market.

Prior host-country work experience and immigrant labor market outcomes: evidence from Canada

Recent changes to immigration selection policies favor skilled workers with prior work experience in the immigrant host country. Using unique administrative tax data for Canada, we estimate earnings equations to quantify the difference in earnings of immigrants with prior Canadian experience (prefilers) and those without prior experience (non-prefilers). We find that, relative to non-prefilers, entry earnings are higher for prefilers and, for male immigrants, this earnings advantage persists for at least 20 years after arrival. We show that the primary source of the higher entry earnings of prefilers is a higher return to foreign experience. In addition, the prefiler earnings advantage is largest for university graduates and the return to foreign experience is higher for prefilers from Western countries than those from the rest of the world. Our findings suggest that a move towards an immigrant selection system which uses previous host-country work experience as a criterion will improve the labor market performance of immigrants.