Changes in social security eligibility and the international mobility of New Zealand citizens in Australia

This paper is concerned with the international mobility of New Zealanders who migrate to Australia. One in ten New Zealand citizens lives in Australia and their settlement and subsequent mobility is important from demographic, socio-economic and policy perspectives in both countries. Using a unique longitudinal dataset on New Zealand citizens arriving for a stay of 12 months or longer between 1 August 1999 and 31 July 2002, we track all subsequent moves of these migrants out of and back into Australia, up to July 2005. This allows us to assess the impact of the removal of labour market-related social security eligibility and some other policy changes affecting New Zealand migrants to Australia, implemented between February and June 2001. United Kingdom migrants to Australia, who were not affected by the policy changes, provide a ‘control group’. Using hazard models, we find that the policy changes increased the probability of remigration from Australia among those who had intended to settle permanently. Competing risk models suggested no difference between the impact of the policy changes on onward or return moves. Settlers arriving after the policy changes spend less time Australia and make more trips away than earlier migrants

The Impact of Skills on Remigration Flows

More than ten years after the seminal paper by Borjas and Bratsberg (1996) modeling the impact of skills on remigration the empirical evidence on that theory is still mixed. Our paper is to shed light on that issue. Using the GSOEP we test two hypotheses derived from Borjas and Bratsberg (1996) while allowing for endogeneity of host country specific capital. Our results give strong support for their theory. Additionally a sensitivity analysis shows that the insignificance of education in previous studies is due to the test design conducted and cannot be interpreted as falsification of Borjas’ and Bratsberg’s (1996) theory.return migration, selective return migration

Changes in social security eligibility and the international mobility of New Zealand citizens in Australia

This paper is concerned with the international mobility of New Zealanders who migrate to Australia. One in ten New Zealand citizens lives in Australia and their settlement and subsequent mobility is important from demographic, socio-economic and policy perspectives in both countries. Using a unique longitudinal dataset on New Zealand citizens arriving for a stay of 12 months or longer between 1 August 1999 and 31 July 2002, we track all subsequent moves of these migrants out of and back into Australia, up to July 2005. This allows us to assess the impact of the removal of labour market-related social security eligibility and some other policy changes affecting New Zealand migrants to Australia, implemented between February and June 2001. United Kingdom migrants to Australia, who were not affected by the policy changes, provide a "control group". Using hazard models, we find that the policy changes increased the probability of remigration from Australia among those who had intended to settle permanently. Competing risk models suggested no difference between the impact of the policy changes on onward or return moves. Settlers arriving after the policy changes spend less time Australia and make more trips away than earlier migrants.International Migration, International Travel, New Zealand, Australia,United Kingdom, Social Welfare, Immigration Policy, Selectivity

What Determines the Duration of Stay of Immigrants in Germany?: Evidence from a Longitudinal Duration Analysis

We analyze the return-migration of German immigrants using the latest data of the German Socio- Economic Panel from 1984 to 2006. We conduct a Cox proportional hazard model with years of residence in Germany as waiting time. The analysis reveals that return migration is heavily influenced by country of origin. Individuals from countries with free labor movement agreements with Germany show a considerably higher likelihood of leaving the country relative to the others. The main finding is, with respect to the self-selection process we discovered that highly skilled are more likely to return than the less skilled. In addition, the results give plenty of information regarding the design of German immigration policy.Remigration, Cox proportional hazard model, Germany

Gender, Transnational Networks and Remittances: Evidence from Germany

Remittances from Germany are substantial. Cross-border transfers to family and friendship networks outside Germany are not only made by foreigners. Many naturalized migrants send money home as well. Here, we focus on transnational networks and gender-specific determinants of remittances from the senders' perspective, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the years 2001-2006.Remittances, Gender, Foreigners, Naturalized Migrants

Gender, Migration, Remittances: Evidence from Germany

Gender-specific determinants of remittances are the subject of this study based on German SOEP data (2001-2006). In 2007, about 7.3 million foreigners were living in Germany. While the total number of foreigners has decreased over the last decade, female migration to Germany has increased. A feminization of migration is observable all over the world, and is changing gender roles in the households of origin as well. Today, women constitute 48.6% of migratory flows to Germany, although the proportion varies significantly by country of origin. A feminization of migration is observable all over the world, and is changing gender roles in the households of origin as well. To date, research has failed to address the gender-specific determinants of remittances from Germany. Here we attempt to fill this gap, focusing on gender roles and network effects. We distinguish between three different groups of migrants: foreigners, Germans with migration background, and all individuals with personal migration experience. Our main findings show, above all, that gender matters. However, the gender differences identified disappear after controlling for transnational (family) networks. Taking interaction terms into account reveals gender-specific network effects. In addition, different groups of migrants show remarkable differences in international networking. We find that female foreigners, but not female migrants with German citizenship, remit less than males if their children live abroad as well. Female migrants with German citizenship send more money home if their siblings remain in the home country. We find the reverse in the case of female migrants with foreign citizenship. Our findings show that female migrants tend to support their children first and foremost, while male migrants tend to support a wider network of more distant family members and friends. This finding is in sharp contrast to previous studies on remittances. It makes clear that there is little evidence supporting the assumption that remittances simply follow income-difference based altruism or that women are more altruistic than men. Furthermore, there seems to be evidence that the gender-specific differences detected in remittance behavior might be due to gender-specific migration patterns and the relative role of the migrant within the transnational network.Remittances, Economics of Gender, Immigrant Workers

Gender, Transnational Networks and Remittances: Evidence from Germany

Remittances from Germany are substantial. Cross-border transfers to family and friendship networks outside Germany are not only made by foreigners. Many naturalized migrants send money home as well. Here, we focus on international networks and gender-specific determinants of remittances from the senders' perspective, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the years 2001-2006. Our findings show, above all, that foreign women remit less money than foreign men. Using information on the social network in the home country we find, first, that the social network abroad explains part of gender differences in remittance behavior. Second, employing gender interaction terms for the social network effects suggests that remittance behavior is affected by traditional gender roles. Third, the migrant's social integration in the destination country matters. Remittance decisions of naturalized migrants do not show the aforementioned gender effect.Remittances, Gender, Foreigners, Naturalized Migrants

Travel and the Greek migrant youth residing in West Germany in the 1960s-1970s

Volume information: 'Between Leisure, Work, and Study: Tourism and Mobility in Europe from 1945-1989', Nikolaos Papadogiannis (U St. Andrews, UK) and Detlef Siegfried (U Kopenhagen, Denmark), eds., ISBN 978-3-86583-896-4.This article explores the travel patterns of young Greek migrants, both students and workers, who resided in the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. It draws on recent scholarly works that call into question a rigid distinction between migration and tourism. In this vein, the article claims that their joint examination contributes to a more nuanced understanding of both the migratory experience of Greeks who lived in West Germany and of the youth culture that emerged in Europe at that time. In particular, while a growing number of peer groups of young people from West Germany engaged in tourism, especially the cross-border variety, from the 1960s onwards, travel was hardly an age-specific pursuit for young Greek migrants at that point: by contrast, their travel revolved (or at least was expected to revolve) around visiting their natal areas and reinforcing their links with relatives. A diversification of their travel-related lifestyle norms, however, occured in the early 1970s as a result of the influx of Greek students at West German universities. Those youngsters, along with some young Greek migrant workers, began to travel as tourists beyond their country of origin as well as to acquaint themselves with aspects of the travel culture of local young people from West Germany, such as hitch-hiking. The article also challenges the argument that youth tourism in the second half of the 20th century helped forge a transnational European identity: for the young migrants in question, some of their tourism practices in the 1960s and 1970s reinforced the idea of a North–South divide.Peer reviewe

Bringing Home the Money: Xenophobia and Remittances: The Case of Germany

The determinants of migrants' remittances are the subject of this study based on German SOEP data (2001-2006). In contrast to previous studies we analyze the motives for remittances not only for foreigners but also for the broader group of individuals with a personal migration background. Major findings are: First, concerns about xenophobia lead to higher remittances. Second, income and gender has no impact on the probability to remit. Third, the acquisition of German citizenship is positively related to the amount remitted. All in all, remittances seem to be part of a personal financial allocation scheme for risk reduction.Remittances, immigrant workers, household behavior

Migration and Money: What determines Remittances? Evidence from Germany

The determinants of migrants' remittances are the subject of this study based on German SOEP data. For our analysis of the probability and amount of remittances, we do not restrict ourselves on immigrants with a foreign citizenship, but focus on all individuals with a migration background. Major findings are: first, the degree of integration into German society matters. Second, the probability to remit is not dominated by income. Third, foreigners living in Germany are not a homogenous group concerning their remittance behavior: people with Turkish and former Yugoslavian citizenship, who are facing a comparable strong pressure for return migration, remit significantly more than others. The study points to potentially interesting directions for future research: (a) deeper investigations of the extent to which the legal status of the migrant influences cross-border transfer behavior and (b) reconsidering the theoretical arguments since the motive for remittances might have changed during the ongoing globalization process.remittances, international migration, altruism