-
Proactive policies result in a better labor
market integration
Do migration policies affect whether immigrants
contribute more to public finances than they receive as transfer payments?
Yes. But simply accumulating the annual fiscal transfers to and fiscal
contributions by migrants is not sufficient to identify the policy impact
and the potential need for reform. What is also required is measuring the
present value of taxes contributed and transfers received by individuals
over their lifespans. Results underscore the need for, and the economic
benefits of, active migration and integration strategies.
MoreLess
-
Immigrants are good for trade
International trade and migration are two
important dimensions of globalization. Although governments have been very
willing to open their borders to trade, they have not been so liberal in
their immigration policies. It has been suggested, however, that a causal
positive link might exist between immigration and trade. Could governments
further increase international trade by also opening their doors to
immigrants? If they could, does it matter what type of immigrants are
encouraged? And is there a saturation level of immigrants after which this
positive impact disappears?
MoreLess
-
There is no evidence that increases in the
minimum wage have hurt immigrants
According to economic theory, a minimum wage
reduces the number of low-wage jobs and increases the number of available
workers, allowing greater hiring selectivity. More competition for a smaller
number of low-wage jobs will disadvantage immigrants if employers perceive
them as less skilled than native-born workers—and vice versa. Studies
indicate that a higher minimum wage does not hurt immigrants, but there is
no consensus on whether immigrants benefit at the expense of natives.
Studies also reach disparate conclusions on whether higher minimum wages
attract or repel immigrants.
MoreLess
-
Patterns of labor market assimilation for
married immigrant women are similar to those for men
What is the role of married women in immigrant
households? Their contribution to the labor market has traditionally been
considered of secondary importance and studied in the framework of temporary
attachment to the labor force to support the household around the time of
arrival. But this role has changed. Evidence from major immigrant-receiving
countries suggests that married immigrant women make labor supply decisions
similar to those recently observed for native-born married women, who are
guided by their own opportunities in the labor market rather than by their
spouses’ employment trajectories.
MoreLess
-
Poor paid employment prospects push minority
workers into working for themselves, often in low-reward work
In many countries, ethnic minority groups are
over-represented in self-employment compared with the majority community.
The kind of work done by minority entrepreneurs can therefore be an
important driver of the economic well-being of their ethnic group.
Furthermore, growing the self-employment sector is a policy objective for
many governments, which see it as a source of innovation, economic growth,
and employment. While self-employment might offer economic opportunities to
minority groups, it is important to understand the factors that underlie the
nature and extent of ethnic entrepreneurship to evaluate whether policy
measures should support it.
MoreLess
-
As immigration lowers childcare and housework
costs, native-born women alter their work and fertility decisions
Many countries are reviewing immigration policy,
focusing on wage and employment effects for workers whose jobs may be
threatened by immigration. Less attention is given to effects on prices of
goods and services. The effect on childcare prices is particularly relevant
to policies for dealing with the gender pay gap and below-replacement
fertility rates, both thought to be affected by the difficulty of combining
work and family. New research suggests immigration lowers the cost of
household services and high-skilled women respond by working more or having
more children.
MoreLess
-
Both low- and high-income immigrants stay for a
relatively short time
The majority of immigrants stay only temporarily
in the host country. When many migrations are temporary, it is important to
know who leaves and who stays, and why. The key questions for the host
country are whether immigrants are net contributors to the welfare system
and whether migrants assimilate quickly. The key questions for the home
country are whether migrants return and who returns. The host country gains
when unsuccessful migrants leave, while the home country may gain when
successful migrants leave. Empirical evidence reveals that both
low-income-earning and high-income-earning migrants leave the host country
quite soon.
MoreLess
-
Avoiding segregation and compensating for parental disadvantage
can reduce migrants’ educational achievement gaps
As global migration flows increase, so do the number of migrant
students in host country schools. Yet migrants’ achievement scores lag well behind those of
their native-born schoolmates. Performance gaps are explained largely by differences in
migrant parents’ socio-economic background, cultural capital, and language skills. Education
policy needs to focus on language teaching, parental involvement, diversity training, and
beneficial social interaction between immigrant and native-born populations. With the wealth
of many industrialized countries threatened by a lack of qualified labor, education of
immigrants should be an important priority.
MoreLess
-
Who is the driving factor—the native spouses or
the immigrants themselves?
Marriages between immigrants and natives
(intermarriages) are often associated with economic success and interpreted
as an indicator of social integration. Intermarried immigrant men are on
average better educated and work in better paid jobs than nonintermarried
immigrant men. In this context, native spouses could deliver valuable
insights into the host country and provide business contacts. However,
intermarriage may not be the driving factor of economic success but instead
be its byproduct, as better education and personal characteristics could be
both economically beneficial and increase the likelihood of meeting natives.
Intermarriage might also be more “suspense-packed” (positively and
negatively) and can thus be associated with an increase in severe stress and
a higher risk of divorce.
MoreLess
-
Immigrants differ in their language proficiency along a range
of characteristics
Language proficiency is a key driver of immigrant integration.
It increases job opportunities and facilitates social and political participation. However,
despite its vital importance, many immigrants never reach adequate proficiency in the host
country language. Therefore, insights into the underlying processes and associated factors are
crucial for designing measures to improve language acquisition. Empirical evidence shows that
immigrants differ in their ability to learn languages, in their experience of everyday
language usage, and their incentives to learn host country languages. This offers a range of
opportunities for public policy intervention.
MoreLess