The Effect of Immigration on Wages in Three European Countries * We extend the Altonji and Card (... more The Effect of Immigration on Wages in Three European Countries * We extend the Altonji and Card (1991) framework for analysing the impact of immigrants on natives' wages from two to three labour types and estimate reduced form wage equations for The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Norway. We find very small effects on natives' wages and no dominant robust patterns of substitution and complementarity. Effects on wages of earlier immigrants are larger but less reliable. Further work should focus on these own effects.
Occupational Adjustment of Immigrants * This paper examines the speed of the occupational adjustm... more Occupational Adjustment of Immigrants * This paper examines the speed of the occupational adjustment of immigrants using Labour Force Surveys 2004 and 2005 from Statistics Netherlands. The analysis provides new evidence that immigrants start with jobs at the lower levels of skill distribution. Their occupational achievement improves significantly with the duration of residence. The extent of this initial disadvantage and the rate of adjustment vary across immigrant groups according to the transferability of skills associated with their cultural and linguistic distance from Dutch society as predicted by the theory of immigrant occupational mobility. Most notably, Turks and Moroccans face the greatest initial dip and achieve the highest rate of adjustment while the opposite holds for Caribbean and Western immigrants. Our results are robust to three alternative measures of occupational status.
How Important Is Homeland Education for Refugees' Economic Position in The Netherlands? * We use ... more How Important Is Homeland Education for Refugees' Economic Position in The Netherlands? * We use data on refugees admitted to the Netherlands that include registration of education in their homeland by immigration officers. Such data are seldom available. We investigate the quality and reliability of the registrations and then use them to assess effects on refugees' economic position during the first five years after arrival. The most remarkable finding is the absence of returns to higher education.
Using two Dutch labour force surveys, employment assimilation of immigrants is examined. We obser... more Using two Dutch labour force surveys, employment assimilation of immigrants is examined. We observe marked differences between immigrants by source country. Non-western immigrants never reach parity with native Dutch. Even second generation immigrants never fully catch up. Caribbean immigrants, who share a colonial history with the Dutch, assimilate relatively quick compared to other non-western immigrants but they still suffer from high unemployment. The study also documents that the quality of jobs is significantly lower for immigrants, especially for those who are at larger cultural distance to Dutch society. Job quality of immigrants increases with the duration of stay but again, does not reach parity with natives. The western immigrants seem to face no considerable difficulties in the Dutch labour market. The most remarkable conclusion is the irrelevance of education for socioeconomic position of immigrants once the country of origin has been controlled for.
Ethnic Disparities in Degree Performance * Using unique administrative individual data, this pape... more Ethnic Disparities in Degree Performance * Using unique administrative individual data, this paper examines ethnic differences in degree performance in Dutch colleges and universities. The paper estimates parametric duration models and accounts for unobserved heterogeneity to assess the sources of ethnic disparities. The analysis shows that ethnic minorities from non-western countries have a significantly lower degree performance and higher risk of dropping-out. Especially, Turkish, Moroccan and Caribbean students are less likely to graduate, and graduates among them need much more time to complete their study. There is no evidence that this disadvantage stems from poor parental socioeconomic position and the choice of study subject.
Grandchildren of post-World War II immigrants have started entering the labor market in Western E... more Grandchildren of post-World War II immigrants have started entering the labor market in Western Europe. Are they on a multigenerational path toward full economic assimilation, much like the European migrant groups in US classical assimilation theory? This paper assesses the degree of economic assimilation of third-generation descendants of immigrants with divergent initial socioeconomic positions in the Netherlands. Given the diversity in starting positions of various migrant groups, we fully account for parental (economic) disadvantages from an intergenerational mobility perspective by making use of rich register data. Looking at adult children aged 20–30 and their (grand)parents, we quantify the Dutch-third-generation gap in incomes and wealth by employing a rank–rank analysis to identify ethnic disparities in absolute and relative intergenerational income mobility. Our analysis reveals that third-generation descendants of immigrants generally reach parity with their native-Dutch counterparts, regardless of their initial position when we control for socioeconomic conditions. The results signify a diminishing role of group-specific barriers across generations for all groups. As such, the third-generation descendants of disadvantaged migrants appear to be on a track toward economic assimilation, regardless of their ethno-national origin. Our conclusion highlights implications for policy and public debates on ethnic disparities.
We examine ethnic differences in the ethnic composition of the destination neighbourhood upon lea... more We examine ethnic differences in the ethnic composition of the destination neighbourhood upon leaving the parental home using administrative data for the entire birth cohort 1983 living in the Netherlands. The analysis provides little evidence of a clear intergenerational break in the location choices of young men and women from a non-western origin compared to their parents. The neighbourhood choice pattern of those who leave the parental home for independent and shared living arrangements does not differ markedly from that of their parents, while nest-leavers for union formation are more likely to move to neighbourhoods with a relatively small proportion of non-western inhabitants. A decomposition analysis indicates that an overwhelmingly large part of neighbourhood choice is explained by differences in background variables. Particularly, the origin neighbourhood type of nestleavers seems to be a driving force underlying the choice of destination neighbourhood, given individual and parental socioeconomic characteristics.
Ethnic Sorting in the Netherlands * This paper examines the residential mobility behaviour of mig... more Ethnic Sorting in the Netherlands * This paper examines the residential mobility behaviour of migrants and natives in the Netherlands using a rich administrative individual data file. The inclination to move and the choice of destination neighbourhood are estimated, correcting for the selection bias of movers. Subsequently, the role of preferences in the mobility behaviour is implicitly derived from regression estimates. The analysis shows that the percentage of natives in the destination neighbourhood is predicted to be about 18 percentage points lower for nonwestern migrants than for natives. About 65 percent of the differential is explained by their observable characteristics; the remaining part can largely be attributed to preferences and discrimination. No indication is found of the spatial assimilation of second-generation nonwestern migrants. On the other hand, the mobility pattern of the second-generation western migrants is similar to that of natives.
International journal of population research, Jun 4, 2012
Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source ... more Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source country, after ranking countries by presumed social-cultural distance to The Netherlands. We test this ranking of human capital transferability on the ranking by initial performance dip at entry as an immigrant and speed of assimilation as measured by the slope on years-sincemigration. We also test the predicted association between entry gap and speed of assimilation (faster assimilation if the initial dip is larger). Both hypotheses are largely supported. Most immigrant groups never reach parity with native Dutch, neither in (un-)employment probability nor in job quality, and certainly not within 25 years after arrival.
We extend the Altonji and Card (1991) framework for analysing the impact of immigrants on natives... more We extend the Altonji and Card (1991) framework for analysing the impact of immigrants on natives' wages from two to three labour types and estimate reduced form wage equations for The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Norway. We find very small effects on natives' wages and no dominant robust patterns of substitution and complementarity. Effects on wages of earlier immigrants are larger but less reliable. Further work should focus on these own effects.
The initial settlement behaviour and the subsequent mobility of immigrants who arrived in the Net... more The initial settlement behaviour and the subsequent mobility of immigrants who arrived in the Netherlands in 1999 are examined using rich administrative individual data. The study considers the settlement patterns of immigrants from various countries of origin who entered the country as labour, family or asylum migrants. The evidence suggests distinct settlement trajectories for asylum and other non-western immigrants. The presence of co-ethnics and members of other ethnic minorities, but also socioeconomic neighbourhood characteristics, appear to play an important role in determining location choice. Differences in the settlement and spatial mobility patterns of immigrants with various degrees of distance from the native Dutch in terms of human and financial capital, proficiency in the relevant language(s), and religion confirm the main predictions of spatial assimilation theory.
Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source ... more Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source country, after ranking countries by presumed social-cultural distance to The Netherlands. We test this ranking of human capital transferability on the ranking by initial performance dip at entry as an immigrant and speed of assimilation as measured by the slope on years-sincemigration. We also test the predicted association between entry gap and speed of assimilation (faster assimilation if the initial dip is larger). Both hypotheses are largely supported. Most immigrant groups never reach parity with native Dutch, neither in (un-)employment probability nor in job quality, and certainly not within 25 years after arrival.
Immigrant Participation in Welfare Benefits in the Netherlands * The efficiency of Dutch welfare ... more Immigrant Participation in Welfare Benefits in the Netherlands * The efficiency of Dutch welfare system is at the heart of debate as long as immigrants are overrepresented in social welfare benefits during the working age period. This paper examines the degree of participation in social assistance, disability and unemployment benefits across ethnic groups using register data of the entire population in the Netherlands. The analysis shows that migrants are drastically more likely to have a benefit, in particular social assistance and disability benefits. A large part of migrants' dependence can be explained by their background characteristics and immigration history but still a significant unexplained residual is left. Most notably, the probability of welfare use of non-western second generation is about twice as high as the probability of western immigrants, which is a true challenge for policy makers.
While the Dutch textile industry declined rapidly, Turkish entrepreneurs created a growing indust... more While the Dutch textile industry declined rapidly, Turkish entrepreneurs created a growing industry for fashion goods with highly flexible demand in an informal sector that was initially tolerated by the autorities and attracted many undocumented immigrants. It led to the unusual spectacle of a labour market visibly in perfect competition; predictions of that model are clearly supported. Crackdown of the authorities led to the demise of the sector: production, capital and labour all proved internationally mobile.
The Effect of Immigration on Wages in Three European Countries * We extend the Altonji and Card (... more The Effect of Immigration on Wages in Three European Countries * We extend the Altonji and Card (1991) framework for analysing the impact of immigrants on natives' wages from two to three labour types and estimate reduced form wage equations for The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Norway. We find very small effects on natives' wages and no dominant robust patterns of substitution and complementarity. Effects on wages of earlier immigrants are larger but less reliable. Further work should focus on these own effects.
Occupational Adjustment of Immigrants * This paper examines the speed of the occupational adjustm... more Occupational Adjustment of Immigrants * This paper examines the speed of the occupational adjustment of immigrants using Labour Force Surveys 2004 and 2005 from Statistics Netherlands. The analysis provides new evidence that immigrants start with jobs at the lower levels of skill distribution. Their occupational achievement improves significantly with the duration of residence. The extent of this initial disadvantage and the rate of adjustment vary across immigrant groups according to the transferability of skills associated with their cultural and linguistic distance from Dutch society as predicted by the theory of immigrant occupational mobility. Most notably, Turks and Moroccans face the greatest initial dip and achieve the highest rate of adjustment while the opposite holds for Caribbean and Western immigrants. Our results are robust to three alternative measures of occupational status.
How Important Is Homeland Education for Refugees' Economic Position in The Netherlands? * We use ... more How Important Is Homeland Education for Refugees' Economic Position in The Netherlands? * We use data on refugees admitted to the Netherlands that include registration of education in their homeland by immigration officers. Such data are seldom available. We investigate the quality and reliability of the registrations and then use them to assess effects on refugees' economic position during the first five years after arrival. The most remarkable finding is the absence of returns to higher education.
Using two Dutch labour force surveys, employment assimilation of immigrants is examined. We obser... more Using two Dutch labour force surveys, employment assimilation of immigrants is examined. We observe marked differences between immigrants by source country. Non-western immigrants never reach parity with native Dutch. Even second generation immigrants never fully catch up. Caribbean immigrants, who share a colonial history with the Dutch, assimilate relatively quick compared to other non-western immigrants but they still suffer from high unemployment. The study also documents that the quality of jobs is significantly lower for immigrants, especially for those who are at larger cultural distance to Dutch society. Job quality of immigrants increases with the duration of stay but again, does not reach parity with natives. The western immigrants seem to face no considerable difficulties in the Dutch labour market. The most remarkable conclusion is the irrelevance of education for socioeconomic position of immigrants once the country of origin has been controlled for.
Ethnic Disparities in Degree Performance * Using unique administrative individual data, this pape... more Ethnic Disparities in Degree Performance * Using unique administrative individual data, this paper examines ethnic differences in degree performance in Dutch colleges and universities. The paper estimates parametric duration models and accounts for unobserved heterogeneity to assess the sources of ethnic disparities. The analysis shows that ethnic minorities from non-western countries have a significantly lower degree performance and higher risk of dropping-out. Especially, Turkish, Moroccan and Caribbean students are less likely to graduate, and graduates among them need much more time to complete their study. There is no evidence that this disadvantage stems from poor parental socioeconomic position and the choice of study subject.
Grandchildren of post-World War II immigrants have started entering the labor market in Western E... more Grandchildren of post-World War II immigrants have started entering the labor market in Western Europe. Are they on a multigenerational path toward full economic assimilation, much like the European migrant groups in US classical assimilation theory? This paper assesses the degree of economic assimilation of third-generation descendants of immigrants with divergent initial socioeconomic positions in the Netherlands. Given the diversity in starting positions of various migrant groups, we fully account for parental (economic) disadvantages from an intergenerational mobility perspective by making use of rich register data. Looking at adult children aged 20–30 and their (grand)parents, we quantify the Dutch-third-generation gap in incomes and wealth by employing a rank–rank analysis to identify ethnic disparities in absolute and relative intergenerational income mobility. Our analysis reveals that third-generation descendants of immigrants generally reach parity with their native-Dutch counterparts, regardless of their initial position when we control for socioeconomic conditions. The results signify a diminishing role of group-specific barriers across generations for all groups. As such, the third-generation descendants of disadvantaged migrants appear to be on a track toward economic assimilation, regardless of their ethno-national origin. Our conclusion highlights implications for policy and public debates on ethnic disparities.
We examine ethnic differences in the ethnic composition of the destination neighbourhood upon lea... more We examine ethnic differences in the ethnic composition of the destination neighbourhood upon leaving the parental home using administrative data for the entire birth cohort 1983 living in the Netherlands. The analysis provides little evidence of a clear intergenerational break in the location choices of young men and women from a non-western origin compared to their parents. The neighbourhood choice pattern of those who leave the parental home for independent and shared living arrangements does not differ markedly from that of their parents, while nest-leavers for union formation are more likely to move to neighbourhoods with a relatively small proportion of non-western inhabitants. A decomposition analysis indicates that an overwhelmingly large part of neighbourhood choice is explained by differences in background variables. Particularly, the origin neighbourhood type of nestleavers seems to be a driving force underlying the choice of destination neighbourhood, given individual and parental socioeconomic characteristics.
Ethnic Sorting in the Netherlands * This paper examines the residential mobility behaviour of mig... more Ethnic Sorting in the Netherlands * This paper examines the residential mobility behaviour of migrants and natives in the Netherlands using a rich administrative individual data file. The inclination to move and the choice of destination neighbourhood are estimated, correcting for the selection bias of movers. Subsequently, the role of preferences in the mobility behaviour is implicitly derived from regression estimates. The analysis shows that the percentage of natives in the destination neighbourhood is predicted to be about 18 percentage points lower for nonwestern migrants than for natives. About 65 percent of the differential is explained by their observable characteristics; the remaining part can largely be attributed to preferences and discrimination. No indication is found of the spatial assimilation of second-generation nonwestern migrants. On the other hand, the mobility pattern of the second-generation western migrants is similar to that of natives.
International journal of population research, Jun 4, 2012
Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source ... more Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source country, after ranking countries by presumed social-cultural distance to The Netherlands. We test this ranking of human capital transferability on the ranking by initial performance dip at entry as an immigrant and speed of assimilation as measured by the slope on years-sincemigration. We also test the predicted association between entry gap and speed of assimilation (faster assimilation if the initial dip is larger). Both hypotheses are largely supported. Most immigrant groups never reach parity with native Dutch, neither in (un-)employment probability nor in job quality, and certainly not within 25 years after arrival.
We extend the Altonji and Card (1991) framework for analysing the impact of immigrants on natives... more We extend the Altonji and Card (1991) framework for analysing the impact of immigrants on natives' wages from two to three labour types and estimate reduced form wage equations for The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Norway. We find very small effects on natives' wages and no dominant robust patterns of substitution and complementarity. Effects on wages of earlier immigrants are larger but less reliable. Further work should focus on these own effects.
The initial settlement behaviour and the subsequent mobility of immigrants who arrived in the Net... more The initial settlement behaviour and the subsequent mobility of immigrants who arrived in the Netherlands in 1999 are examined using rich administrative individual data. The study considers the settlement patterns of immigrants from various countries of origin who entered the country as labour, family or asylum migrants. The evidence suggests distinct settlement trajectories for asylum and other non-western immigrants. The presence of co-ethnics and members of other ethnic minorities, but also socioeconomic neighbourhood characteristics, appear to play an important role in determining location choice. Differences in the settlement and spatial mobility patterns of immigrants with various degrees of distance from the native Dutch in terms of human and financial capital, proficiency in the relevant language(s), and religion confirm the main predictions of spatial assimilation theory.
Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source ... more Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source country, after ranking countries by presumed social-cultural distance to The Netherlands. We test this ranking of human capital transferability on the ranking by initial performance dip at entry as an immigrant and speed of assimilation as measured by the slope on years-sincemigration. We also test the predicted association between entry gap and speed of assimilation (faster assimilation if the initial dip is larger). Both hypotheses are largely supported. Most immigrant groups never reach parity with native Dutch, neither in (un-)employment probability nor in job quality, and certainly not within 25 years after arrival.
Immigrant Participation in Welfare Benefits in the Netherlands * The efficiency of Dutch welfare ... more Immigrant Participation in Welfare Benefits in the Netherlands * The efficiency of Dutch welfare system is at the heart of debate as long as immigrants are overrepresented in social welfare benefits during the working age period. This paper examines the degree of participation in social assistance, disability and unemployment benefits across ethnic groups using register data of the entire population in the Netherlands. The analysis shows that migrants are drastically more likely to have a benefit, in particular social assistance and disability benefits. A large part of migrants' dependence can be explained by their background characteristics and immigration history but still a significant unexplained residual is left. Most notably, the probability of welfare use of non-western second generation is about twice as high as the probability of western immigrants, which is a true challenge for policy makers.
While the Dutch textile industry declined rapidly, Turkish entrepreneurs created a growing indust... more While the Dutch textile industry declined rapidly, Turkish entrepreneurs created a growing industry for fashion goods with highly flexible demand in an informal sector that was initially tolerated by the autorities and attracted many undocumented immigrants. It led to the unusual spectacle of a labour market visibly in perfect competition; predictions of that model are clearly supported. Crackdown of the authorities led to the demise of the sector: production, capital and labour all proved internationally mobile.
The study sets out to provide a better understanding of the emerging challenges in policy targeti... more The study sets out to provide a better understanding of the emerging challenges in policy targeting the labour-market integration of refugees. What are the strategies and practices implemented in different EU Member States to facilitate access into employment? What do we know about their effectiveness? What are good practices and lessons learned in different countries?
The study is based on nine detailed country case studies of the following EU Member States: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It has been produced by the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) at the European University Institute in Florence.
The study sets out to provide a better understanding of the emerging challenges in policy targeti... more The study sets out to provide a better understanding of the emerging challenges in policy targeting the labour-market integration of refugees. What are the strategies and practices implemented in different EU Member States to facilitate access into employment? What do we know about their effectiveness? What are good practices and lessons learned in different countries?
The study is based on nine detailed country case studies of the following EU Member States: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It has been produced by the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) at the European University Institute in Florence.
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Papers by Aslan Zorlu
The study is based on nine detailed country case studies of the following EU Member States: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It has been produced by the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) at the European University Institute in Florence.
The study is based on nine detailed country case studies of the following EU Member States: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It has been produced by the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) at the European University Institute in Florence.