To what extent is a transition into employment associated with an exit from poverty

Abstract: A link between lack of employment and poverty is often made implicitly, but can be difficult to enumerate in a satisfactory manner. We would therefore like to ask the question: to what extent does acquiring employment increase a poor household’s probability of exiting poverty? Register data from the entire resident population of Norway serves as the basis for this analysis, which indicates that full-time does greatly increase the probability of exiting poverty. Part-time employment also has an effect, albeit a small one. Findings with respect to transfers are compatible with certain disincentives related to employment for single mothers, although similar results cannot be found for other types of households

The Labor market integration of immigrant men and women

Abstract: Out of necessity, the earliest studies of immigrants' performance in the labor market in Western countries focused solely on men. However, as the employment rates of women in Western countries rise and approach those of men, questions about the labor market adjustments of immigrant women also become increasingly relevant. Furthermore, studies of earnings assimilation have typically analyzed only those individuals actually employed (full-time) in the labor market. Hence, they are unable to provide valuable insights into the extent to which the participation rates of immigrants – men or women – increase over time in the host country. This study analyzes explicitly the extent to which non-Western immigrants – both men and women – enter the labor market in Norway

Universal Transfers, Tax Breaks and Fertility: Evidence from a Regional Reform in Norway

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Gruppering av kommuner etter folkemengde og økonomiske rammebetingelser 2003

Formålet med denne rapporten er å ordne kommunene i sammenliknbare grupper etter økonomiske rammebetingelser. Dette betyr for det første at kommunene blir ordnet etter hvilke kostnader de står overfor for å innfri minstestandarder og lovpålagte oppgaver. Disse kostnadene varierer mellom kommunene på grunn av ulike demografiske, sosiale og geografiske forhold. Men siden driften av små kommuner atskiller seg fra driften av store kommuner, har vi av sammenlikningsgrunner funnet det hensiktsmessig å la grupperingen av kommunene også være avhengig av folkemengden. Det tredje kriteriet som brukes til å gruppere kommunene er frie disponible inntekter, dvs. de inntektene som er til disposisjon når minstestandarder og lovpålagte oppgaver er dekket. Størrelsen på de frie disponible inntektene gir en antydning av kommunenes økonomiske handlefrihet. Den mest omfattende grupperingen, basert på de tre nevnte kriteriene, består av 27 grupper. I tillegg har vi skilt ut de fire største byene og de 10 kommunene med høyest frie disponible inntekter per innbygger (i hovedsak kraftkommuner) som egne grupper. Kommunegrupperingen som fremkommer er basert på data for 2003 og blir sammenliknet med en tilsvarende gruppering basert på data for 1998

Re-examining the earnings assimilatins of immigrants

Studies on the earnings assimilation of immigrants have traditionally focused exclusively on immigrants in employment. However, given evidence of immigrants' difficulties in entering and remaining in the labor market, restricting the population to those in employment may entail a selection bias. In addition, the primary variable of interest in such studies is often the duration of residence or the years since migration (YSM), which is interpreted as a proxy for potential labor market experience in the host country. The appropriateness of that proxy will, however, also depend on the extent to which immigrants are able to quickly enter and remain in the labor market. This study thus re-examines evidence on the earnings assimilation of immigrants in light of selection into the labor market and with better information on actual labor market experience in the host country. The findings suggest that a major revision of previous conclusions about the earnings assimilation of immigrants in Norway may be in order

New Perspectives on the Integration of Immigrants

Norway has only recently started to experience firsthand the challenges, difficulties, and benefits associated with a large and expanding immigrant population. In facing these issues today, Norway has some huge advantages over traditional immigrant countries, such as the US. Firstly, Norway can try to glean valuable insights from decades of social science research on the topic of immigration and can thus hope to learn from the previous experiences of other countries with a longer tradition of immigration. Secondly, Norway is itself in many ways in an unprecedented position to document, monitor and analyze the challenges, difficulties and benefits of immigration while they are taking place. This is largely due to a vast infrastructure of high-quality micro-data available on many aspects of economic and social life generally deemed relevant and valuable in the social sciences and for policymaking, both in Norway and elsewhere. Thus, the relatively new experiences with immigration and immigrants in Norway provide unique opportunities both for the re-evaluation of previous research and for suggesting new avenues of inquiry. In this sense, Norwegian social science and the Norwegian experience with immigration can also provide knowledge and insights of potential value for many other countries, even those with much longer histories of immigration

Do immigrants integrate out of poverty in Norway

Abstract: In light of the riots and unrest among immigrants in France during the fall of 2005, the question of how immigrants are faring with respect to a certain minimum in society is both a timely and pertinent question for a number of European countries. In Norway, the prevalence of poverty is alarmingly high among immigrants and stands in stark contrast to the very low poverty rates for the native Norwegian population. Thus, unless the high poverty rates in the immigrant population are just a temporary feature of the immigrants' initial period of adjustment in the host country, poverty among immigrants is a cause for concern in Norway, too. This paper wishes to serve as a complement or extension of previous studies of immigrant adjustment; the study also aims to provide insights on the substantial heterogeneity -- observed, unobserved and unobservable -- in the immigrant population in Norway

Re-examining the earnings assimilatins of immigrants

Studies on the earnings assimilation of immigrants have traditionally focused exclusively on immigrants in employment. However, given evidence of immigrants' difficulties in entering and remaining in the labor market, restricting the population to those in employment may entail a selection bias. In addition, the primary variable of interest in such studies is often the duration of residence or the years since migration (YSM), which is interpreted as a proxy for potential labor market experience in the host country. The appropriateness of that proxy will, however, also depend on the extent to which immigrants are able to quickly enter and remain in the labor market. This study thus re-examines evidence on the earnings assimilation of immigrants in light of selection into the labor market and with better information on actual labor market experience in the host country. The findings suggest that a major revision of previous conclusions about the earnings assimilation of immigrants in Norway may be in order.The paper is part of a research project funded by the Research Council of Norway

Do immigrants integrate out of poverty in Norway

Abstract: In light of the riots and unrest among immigrants in France during the fall of 2005, the question of how immigrants are faring with respect to a certain minimum in society is both a timely and pertinent question for a number of European countries. In Norway, the prevalence of poverty is alarmingly high among immigrants and stands in stark contrast to the very low poverty rates for the native Norwegian population. Thus, unless the high poverty rates in the immigrant population are just a temporary feature of the immigrants' initial period of adjustment in the host country, poverty among immigrants is a cause for concern in Norway, too. This paper wishes to serve as a complement or extension of previous studies of immigrant adjustment; the study also aims to provide insights on the substantial heterogeneity -- observed, unobserved and unobservable -- in the immigrant population in Norway

The Labor market integration of immigrant men and women

Abstract: Out of necessity, the earliest studies of immigrants' performance in the labor market in Western countries focused solely on men. However, as the employment rates of women in Western countries rise and approach those of men, questions about the labor market adjustments of immigrant women also become increasingly relevant. Furthermore, studies of earnings assimilation have typically analyzed only those individuals actually employed (full-time) in the labor market. Hence, they are unable to provide valuable insights into the extent to which the participation rates of immigrants – men or women – increase over time in the host country. This study analyzes explicitly the extent to which non-Western immigrants – both men and women – enter the labor market in Norway