POLICY AND PRACTICE TARGETING THE LABOUR MARKET INTEGRATION OF NON-EU NATIONALS IN IRELAND. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 89 JUNE 2019

Increases in immigration inflows to both the European Union (EU) and Ireland between 2014 and 2016, due in part to the ‘refugee and migrant crisis’, have resulted in an increased focus on integration policies, outcomes and measures, including in the area of labour market integration. Employment is crucial for the integration of migrants into the economic and social life of their host country, so labour market integration is a very important part of integration policy (European Commission, 2016). In recent years, many Member States have updated existing labour market integration policies or have developed new ones. Ireland, like the majority of EU Member States (EMN, 2019), pursues a policy of mainstreaming service provision in the area of integration, with targeted initiatives to meet specific needs. This study first considers labour migration policy, which manages and shapes overall access of non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals to the Irish labour market.1 Under the employment permits system administered by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation (DBEI), non-EEA nationals may apply to access the Irish labour market. The report then looks at specific policies and measures which aim to improve labour market integration for non-EU nationals living in Ireland. The focus is on labour integration measures for regularly staying non-EU nationals with a right to work. Measures specifically targeting non-EEA students, graduates, asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection are beyond the study scope. The effect of general labour market and social policy provision in Ireland on labour market integration is also outside the scope. Examples of public and private sector practices are discussed together with examples of community sector practices that receive public funds

Integration and Labour Markets in European Border regions

Border regions are likely to play a critical role within the special dynamics initiated by the enlargement of the EU. This paper deals with the effects of integration on labour market conditions in border regions. Within the framework of different theoretical approaches the effects of integration on location conditions and labour markets in border regions are analysed. Furthermore, we investigate empirically the degree of labour market integration in European border regions. Measures of spatial association are applied as indicators for the intensity of integration among neighbouring labour markets. The results of an analysis of per capita income and unemployment for the period 1995 to 2000 point at a measurable spatial segmentation of labour markets even among highly integrated EU15 countries. On average, border regions in the EU are characterised by lower degree of labour market integration than non-border areas due to significant border impediments that hamper equilibrating forces between labour markets on both sides of national frontiers. JEL classification: F22, J61, R23 Keywords: European Integration, Labour Market Disparities, Border Regions, Spatial Dependence

Integration, Mobility, and Human Capital Formation

In this note, we show that labour market integration can be a double-edged sword. In the presence of local human capital externalities, integration and the ensuing agglomeration of skilled labour can cause a decline in human capital and the total wage sum (net of education costs). In particular, integration depresses the incentives for some talented but immobile individuals to become skilled.human capital, migration, labour market integration, agglomeration

Wage formation and European integration

European integration is likely to affect labour market performance through various routes. One important channel is the effects product market integration has on labour markets. This paper reviews how product market integration may strengthen labour market interdependencies between integrating economies and therefore affect both the level of employment and the flexibility by which wages adjust to shocks.integration, european integration, labour market performance, product market integration, wage formation, wages, employment, Andersen

Labour market integration and innovation: the implications on consumers

We show the effects of labour market integration on consumers. Labour market integration allows the firms in the labour recipient countries to hire skilled and unskilled workers at lower wages. If labour market integration creates the possibility of migration of skilled workers, it increases investments in innovation and benefits the consumers. However, if labour market integration creates the possibility of migration of unskilled workers, it neither increases investment in innovation nor benefits the consumers always. Our results suggest that the effects of labour market integration on the consumers depend on several factors such as the market size, differences in the labour coefficients and wage and the type of migrated workers (i.e., skilled or unskilled workers)

The Effects of Social and Labour Market Policies of EU-countries on the Socio-Economic Integration of First and Second Generation Immigrants from Different Countries of Origin

In this article, we analyse four different dimensions of socio-economic integration of 1st and 2nd generation immigrants into the labour markets of 13 EU countries and we assess, taking into account a number of individual characteristics, the effects of the countries of origin and the countries of destination on this integration. We find that participation in the labour market, unemployment, occupational status and the chances of reaching the upper middle-class are different, although inter-related, dimensions of the socio-economic integration of immigrants and they work differently for men and women. In the countries of destination, the level of employment protection legislation and the conservative welfare regime affect this integration negatively. Most indicators of national policies aimed at the integration of immigrants have no effects on the socio-economic integration of immigrants. Furthermore, we find a number of origin effects which continue to have an impact on 2nd generation immigrants. Political stability and political freedom in origin countries have positive and negative effects on socio-economic integration. The emigration rate of the origin countries has a negative effect. The higher levels of socio-economic integration amongst immigrants from other EU-countries demonstrates the functioning of the European Union as an integrated labour market .Controlling for individual religious affiliation turns out to be very useful, since we find a number of negative effects of being a Muslim, among both men and women. While individual education is an important predictor of immigrants' labour market outcomes, our findings indicate lower returns on this education in terms of occupational status, indicating a ceiling effect for highly-educated 2nd generation immigrants who cannot translate their qualifications into high-status jobs to the same extent as their native peers.immigration, integration, labour market, European Union, social policy

The effects of increasing openness and integration to the MERCOSUR on the Uruguayan labour market. A CGE modeling analysis

Uruguay is a small economy. Its integration to MERCOSUR has increased the exposure to regional macroeconomic inestability. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of regional integration on labour market and poverty. We estimated wage differentials between labour categories, finding a 60% wage gap between formal and informal workers. A CGE model with an efficiency wage specification for unskilled labour was built. Results show that regional shocks deeply affect Uruguayan economy. The consideration of efficiency wage model is particularly important when shocks lead to a reallocation of resources towards sectors intensive in unskilled labour. A subsidy on formal, unskilled labour could contribute to decrease informality and therefore increase GDP, but this type of policy need to be carefully implemented, because it may have negative effects on investment. Finally, the effects on poverty and income distribution obtained through microsimulations are consistent with the results of the CGE experiments.Uruguay, labour market, general equilibrium model, regional integration, efficiency wage, microsimulation, poverty

European integration, labour market dynamics and migration flows

This paper has a double goal. On one side we want to evaluate the effect of economic integration on migration flows moving from the enlargement countries towards the EU-15; on the other, we want to analyse whether the migration flows had any impact over employment, real wages and labour force in the receiving countries of the European labour market. Due to the fact that economic integration can be observed in different real, monetary and financial phenomena, we refer to three of these to measure integration: trade openness, trade integration and financial market integration. These indicators have been inserted in a theoretical model that tries to explain labour market dynamics. The theoretical context that seemed the most suitable one to summarise European labour market characteristics is a modified version of the insider/outsider model proposed by Layard, Nickell and Jackman (LNJ, 1991). Another innovative contribution is the introduction of an equation modelling migration flows, whose creation is inspired to the neo-classic approach to the migration theory (Harris-Todaro, 1970). The model based on rational expectations is solved to find the equilibrium solution and the impact multipliers. Subsequently we estimated a structural VAR with the aim of both evaluating the impact that different shocks on integration measures have on migration flows, and measuring the type of effects that an increase in migration flows causes on the labour market. The estimates show that economic integration generate relevant effects on migration flows from the enlargement countries towards the EU-15 countries. Moreover, from the results emerge that migration flows generate an effect on the labour market.European economic integration, labour market effects, migration

Integration and labour markets in European border regions

"Border regions are likely to play a critical role within the spatial dynamics initiated by the enlargement of the EU. This paper deals with the effects of integration on labour markets in border regions. Within the framework of different theoretical approaches, the effects of integration on location conditions and labour market disparities along national borders are analysed. Furthermore, we investigate empirically the degree of labour market integration in European border regions. Measures of spatial association are used as indicators of the intensity of integration among neighbouring labour markets. The results of an analysis of per capita income and unemployment for the period 1995-2000 point to a measurable spatial segmentation of labour markets along national borders even among highly integrated EU15 countries. On average, border regions in the EU are characterised by a lower degree of labour market integration than non-border areas, due to significant border impediments that hamper equilibrating forces between labour markets on both sides of national frontiers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))europäische Integration, Grenzgebiet, EU-Erweiterung, Arbeitsmarktentwicklung, regionaler Arbeitsmarkt, Standortfaktoren, grenzüberschreitende Zusammenarbeit, Einkommensentwicklung, Arbeitslosigkeit, Außenhandelsverflechtung, Arbeitskräftemobilität, Wirtschaftsgeografie, Europäische Union

Regional wage convergence in Spain : 1850-1930

Real wages PPP adjusted are used to analyse labour market integration in Spain. In contrast to earlier research analysing migration and nominal wages rates, our research seems to indicate that a well-integrated labour market had emerged in Spain by 1914 and substantial wage convergence happened from 1850 to 1914 with low rates of interna l migration. The shock of World War I and the subsequent globalisation backlash appear to disrupt this integrated market provoking a spectacular increase in wage differentials across regions and provinces. However, real wage convergence across Spanish provinces resumed powerfully over 1920s, this time accompanied by high internal migrations