Pushing and Pulling : A population based approach to analysing the historical determinants of internal migration

This paper contributes to the literature on internal migration by estimating parameters for push and pull factors by modelling the complete migration decision. Using data based on individuals linked between the complete Swedish censuses of 1880 and 1890, we consider both the push factors which determined whether an individual choose to leave their origin and the pulls factors which attracted migrants to specific destinations. The analysis includes both male and female migrants and takes into account the effect of individual, family, and location specific characteristics . Moreover, we consider all possible origins and destinations for internal migrants

Explaining COVID-19 mortality among immigrants in Sweden from a social determinants of health perspective (COVIS): protocol for a national register-based observational study

Introduction: Adopting a social determinants of health perspective, this project aims to study how disproportionate COVID-19 mortality among immigrants in Sweden is associated with social factors operating through differential exposure to the virus (eg, by being more likely to work in high-exposure occupations) and differential effects of infection arising from socially patterned, pre-existing health conditions, differential healthcare seeking and inequitable healthcare provision. Methods and analysis: This observational study will use health (eg, hospitalisations, deaths) and sociodemographic information (eg, occupation, income, social benefits) from Swedish national registers linked using unique identity numbers. The study population includes all adults registered in Sweden in the year before the start of the pandemic (2019), as well as individuals who immigrated to Sweden or turned 18 years of age after the start of the pandemic (2020). Our analyses will primarily cover the period from 31 January 2020 to 31 December 2022, with updates depending on the progression of the pandemic. We will evaluate COVID-19 mortality differences between foreign-born and Swedish-born individuals by examining each mechanism (differential exposure and effects) separately, while considering potential effect modification by country of birth and socioeconomic factors. Planned statistical modelling techniques include mediation analyses, multilevel models, Poisson regression and event history analyses. Ethics and dissemination: This project has been granted all necessary ethical permissions from the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (Dnr 2022-0048-01) for accessing and analysing deidentified data. The final outputs will primarily be disseminated as scientific articles published in open-access peer-reviewed international journals, as well as press releases and policy briefs

Diversity of Legacy : The Experience of Immigrants and their Descendants in Sweden

This dissertation examines the integration of immigrants from an intergenerational and multidimensional perspective. During the post-World War Two period, Sweden has been characterized by a large and increasing degree of heterogeneity in terms of immigrant background and reason for migration. This diversity has led to considerable challenges in terms of integration. While the economic challenges of immigrants are well documented, much less is known about other aspects of integration. In particular, little is known about the extent to which an individual’s home country characteristics and experiences carry over into the long-term integration prospects of immigrants and their descendants. This thesis examines integration as an intergenerational process, and examines aspects such as residential choice, education, gender differences, and health. Specific focus is placed on understanding the varying extent to which country of origin differences persist.The thesis exploits longitudinal administrative data found in Swedish registers to link families across generations. Using this linkage, it is possible to move away from standard mono-generational studies of integration and identify mechanisms through which parental experiences and background manifest themselves in the outcomes of their descendants. This not only allows us to understand integration in the past, but it also allows us to make informed assumptions of how integration may evolve over time.General results of this thesis suggest that there is considerable heterogeneity in the extent to which immigrant background carries over into the integration process in the new country. In an examination of residential choice, it becomes clear that country of origin may not be an adequate unit of aggregation to understand residential clustering of migrants. For countries with high degrees of ethnic heterogeneity, nationality is not the salient characteristic. When examining educational outcomes, the migration histories of parents are important in determining the educational disadvantage of the children. Additionally, the gender norms in the home country also affect the degree to which daughters perform relative to their brothers - origin countries with high degrees of gender inequality seem to penalize girls’ educational achievement. Finally, the thesis identifies a puzzling development where some migrant groups display increasing birthweight disparities relative to the native population, with differences growing even in the third generation.In sum, this thesis points to the broad diversity of legacy in terms of immigrant integration over generations. These results underline the fact that no single aspect of integration is adequate to assess the overall integration process. The identification of these processes highlights a potential development towards persistent socioeconomic stratification based on immigrant background

How Assad changed population growth in Sweden and Norway: Syrian refugees’ impact on Nordic national and municipal demography

In an increasingly interconnected world, the demographic effects of wars are not confined only to war zones and neighbouring areas; wars and conflicts may also change populations far away. Without the war in Syria under President Assad and the associated mass exodus of Syrian refugees, the population trends in distant countries like Sweden and Norway over the last few years would have been different. We create hypothetical scenarios of the population developments in Sweden and Norway without a war in Syria from 2011 onwards, where excess immigration due to the war and associated excess births are removed. The results indicate that population growth in 2016 would have been roughly 36% lower in Sweden and 26% lower in Norway without the Syrian war. The number of births in 2017 would have been about 3% lower in Sweden and 1% lower in Norway. One in ten municipalities would have had a population decline in 2016 instead of a population increase, and the largest immigrant group in Sweden by January 2019 would still be of Finnish origin

Repeat Immigration: A Previously Unobserved Source of Heterogeneity?

AIMS:Register data allow for nuanced analyses of heterogeneities between sub-groups which are not observable in other data sources. One heterogeneity for which register data is particularly useful is in identifying unique migration histories of immigrant populations, a group of interest across disciplines. Years since migration is a commonly used measure of integration in studies seeking to understand the outcomes of immigrants. This study constructs detailed migration histories to test whether misclassified migrations may mask important heterogeneities. In doing so, we identify a previously understudied group of migrants called repeat immigrants, and show that they differ systematically from permanent immigrants. In addition, we quantify the degree to which migration information is misreported in the registers.METHOD:The analysis is carried out in two steps. First, we estimate income trajectories for repeat immigrants and permanent immigrants to understand the degree to which they differ. Second, we test data validity by cross-referencing migration information with changes in income to determine whether there are inconsistencies indicating misreporting.RESULTS:From the first part of the analysis, the results indicate that repeat immigrants systematically differ from permanent immigrants in terms of income trajectories. Furthermore, income trajectories differ based on the way in which years since migration is calculated. The second part of the analysis suggests that misreported migration events, while present, are negligible.CONCLUSIONS:Repeat immigrants differ in terms of income trajectories, and may differ in terms of other outcomes as well. Furthermore, this study underlines that Swedish registers provide a reliable data source to analyze groups which are unidentifiable in other data sources

Unemployment persistence among second-generation immigrants

Published online: 02 January 2023Many immigrant groups disproportionately experience unemployment and this disadvantage often extends to their children—the second generation. This paper contributes to this stream of research by studying unemployment dynamics of the ancestral population and second-generation immigrants in Sweden. In particular, we ask: does unemployment persistence differ between ancestral Swedes and 10 second-generation immigrant groups? We answer this question using correlated dynamic random-effects logit models to study the effect of past on current unemployment—also known as genuine state dependence. We use Swedish register data to follow individuals over their early working careers. The results indicate that although past unemployment has a similar relative effect on current unemployment across the ancestry groups, past unemployment increases the probability of current unemployment (absolute effect) more among second-generation Middle-Eastern, Turkish, and Southern European immigrants. Because of higher baseline levels of unemployment, the labour market consequences of similar relative effects are more pronounced among the second generation as compared to ancestral Swedes. The paper concludes by elaborating on the reasons behind these contrasting results while highlighting the importance of examining heterogeneous effects on both the relative and absolute scales

How Assad changed population growth in Sweden and Norway: Syrian refugees' impact on Nordic national and municipal demography.

In an increasingly interconnected world, the demographic effects of wars are not confined only to war zones and neighbouring areas; wars and conflicts may also change populations far away. Without the war in Syria under President Assad and the associated mass exodus of Syrian refugees, the population trends in distant countries like Sweden and Norway over the last few years would have been different. We create hypothetical scenarios of the population developments in Sweden and Norway without a war in Syria from 2011 onwards, where excess immigration due to the war and associated excess births are removed. The results indicate that population growth in 2016 would have been roughly 36% lower in Sweden and 26% lower in Norway without the Syrian war. The number of births in 2017 would have been about 3% lower in Sweden and 1% lower in Norway. One in ten municipalities would have had a population decline in 2016 instead of a population increase, and the largest immigrant group in Sweden by January 2019 would still be of Finnish origin

Father’s Repeat Migration and Children’s Educational Performance

Repeat migration is a common, but unstudied, pattern of migration. This study examines the potential intergenerational consequences of this behavior. To investigate this, we estimate the effect of fathers’ repeat migration on their children’s grade point averages using population-level register data from Sweden. We find that the children of fathers who repeat migrate have a significantly lower grade point average, even after controlling for individual and family characteristics, than children of permanent migrants. Results suggest selection and delayed integration may exert negative pressure on the GPA of children of repeat migrants

Is it Better to Intermarry? Immigration Background of Married Couples and Suicide Risk Among Native-Born and Migrant Persons in Sweden

Marriage is protective against suicide across most populations, including for persons of different ethnicities and immigrant backgrounds. However, the well-being benefits of marriage are contingent upon marital characteristics-such as conflict and quality-that may vary across spousal dyads with different immigration backgrounds. Leveraging Swedish register data, we compare suicide mortality among married persons on the basis of their and their spouse's immigration backgrounds. We find that relative to those in a native Swede-Swede union, Swedish men married to female immigrants and immigrant women married to native men are at higher risk of death by suicide, while immigrants of both genders who are married to someone from their birth country have a lower risk of suicide mortality. The findings support hypotheses about the strains that may be encountered by those who intermarry, as well as the potential selection of individuals into inter- and intra-ethnic marriages