Is naturalization a passport for better labor market integration? Evidence from a quasi-experimental setting

Better integration is beneficial for both migrants and the host country. In this respect, granting citizenship could be an important policy to boost migrants' integration. In this paper, I estimate the causal impact of obtaining citizenship on migrants' labor market integration. I exploit a change in the law of naturalization through marriage in France in 2006. This reform amended the eligibility criteria for applicants by increasing the required number of years of marital life from 2 to 4, generating an exogenous shock and thus a quasi-experimental setting. Using administrative panel data, I first show evidence of the impact of the reform on naturalization rates. I then use a difference-indifferences model to estimate the labor market returns to naturalization. I find that, among those working, citizenship leads to an increase in annual earnings. This effect is driven by a significant increase in the number of hours worked, as well as a positive effect on hourly wages. While the gain in earnings is similar for both men and women, the effect for men is mostly driven by an increase in hours worked compared to an increase in hourly wages for women. I provide suggestive evidence that naturalization helps reduce informality, and discrimination. This paper thus provides strong evidence that naturalization acts as a catalyst for labor market integration

Post-Colonial Trends of Income Inequality in The Overseas Departments of France

Most ex-colonies have gained their independence during the decolonization wave in the last century. Recent research on the colonial legacy in terms of inequality has thus mostly focused on these independent states, overlooking the few territories which were assimilated by their ex-colonizers. This paper analyzes the post-colonial inequality in four such territories- La Reunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane. Despite the explicit aim of decolonization as being a rupture with their unequal colonial past, these territories have since witnessed ongoing protests and riots due to the perceived high level of socioeconomic disparities. Drawing on a new income tax dataset put together in this paper, I study the evolution of income inequality in the four oldest French colonies, now overseas departments of France, since their decolonization in 1946 until recent years. The results of the top 1\% income shares reveal an inverted-U shaped curve of inequality since decolonization. Despite the rapid decline in the level of inequality and the general catch-up of the overseas departments, the top 10\% income share remained consistently higher than in the metropolis. Going further, I investigate the hidden underlying cleavage: the metropolitan-native divide. Matching fiscal data of 2014 to the corresponding population census, I show that metropolitans are over-represented in the top of the distribution and that there exist a ``metropolitan income premium" in the overseas departments, even after controlling for observable characteristics

Essais sur les inégalités et la migration : une perspective post-coloniale et globale

Cette thèse s'intéresse aux liens complexes entre les inégalités, la migration et la colonisation.Le premier chapitre s'intéresse à l'effet causal de la naturalisation sur l'intégration des étrangers sur le marché du travail. Il est connu qu'une meilleure intégration est bénéfique tant pour les migrants que pour le pays d'accueil. À cet égard, l'octroi de la citoyenneté pourrait être une politique importante pour stimuler l'intégration des migrants. Dans ce chapitre, j'analyse l'impact causal de l'obtention de la citoyenneté sur l'intégration des migrants sur le marché du travail. J'exploite un changement dans la loi de naturalisation par mariage en France en 2006. Cette réforme a modifié les critères d'éligibilité des candidats en augmentant le nombre d'années de vie conjugale requis de 2 à 4 ans. En utilisant des données administratives de panel et une approche de différence-de-différences, j'estime le rendement de la naturalisation sur le marché du travail. Je constate que, parmi les personnes qui travaillent, la citoyenneté entraîne une augmentation des revenus annuels. Je montre aussi que la naturalisation contribue à réduire l'emploi informel et la discrimination.Le deuxième chapitre étudie l'évolution post-coloniales de l'inégalité des revenus. Les recherches récentes sur l'héritage colonial en termes d'inégalité se sont principalement concentrées sur des anciennes colonies actuellement indépendantes, négligeant les quelques territoires qui ont été assimilés par leurs anciens colonisateurs. Ce chapitre analyse l'inégalité post-coloniale dans quatre de ces territoires : La Réunion, la Guadeloupe, la Martinique et la Guyane. En m'appuyant sur un nouvel ensemble de données sur l'impôt sur le revenu constitué dans ce chapitre, j'étudie l'évolution de l'inégalité des revenus depuis leur décolonisation en 1946 jusqu’à présent. Les résultats de la part des revenus des 1% supérieurs reflètent un déclin rapide de l'inégalité depuis la décolonisation et une stabilisation au cours de la dernière décennie. Malgré le rattrapage général des départements d'outre-mer, la part des 10 % de revenus les plus élevés est restée constamment supérieure à celle de la métropole. En allant plus loin, j'étudie le clivage sous-jacent : le clivage métropole-natifs. En utilisant des données administratives, je montre que les métropolitains sont surreprésentés dans le haut de la distribution et qu'il existe une "prime de revenu métropolitaine" dans les départements d'outre-mer, même après avoir pris les caractéristiques observables en compte.Le troisième chapitre est un travail en collaboration avec Luis Bauluz, Filip Novokmet, et Daniel Sanchez Ordonez et vise à mesurer l'inégalité des terres dans plusieurs pays à travers différentes régions. Les estimations existantes de l'inégalité des terres, basées sur les données du recensement agricole, mesurent la distribution des exploitations agricoles. Elles ne reflètent ni les inégalités de la possession des terres, ni les inégalités de la valeur des terres et, souvent, elles ne tiennent pas compte de la population sans terre. Dans ce chapitre, nous abordons ces questions et fournissons des estimations nouvelles et cohérentes de l'inégalité des terres entre les pays, basées sur des enquêtes auprès des ménages. Nous montrons que i) l'inégalité de la valeur peut différer considérablement de l'inégalité de la superficie des terres, ii) les différences dans la proportion de sans-terre entre les pays varient considérablement, ce qui affecte fortement les estimations de l'inégalité et, iii) les niveaux d'inégalité régionaux selon notre métrique de référence contredisent les estimations existantes des recensements agricoles. Dans l'ensemble, l'Asie du Sud et l'Amérique latine présentent les inégalités les plus fortes, les 10 % de propriétaires fonciers les plus importants s'appropriant jusqu'à 75 % des terres agricoles, suivies de l'Afrique et de l'Asie "communiste", avec des niveaux d'environ 55-60 %.This thesis focuses on the intricate link between inequality, migration, and colonization. Chapter 1 looks at the causal effect of naturalization on the labor market integration of foreigners. It is acknowledged that better integration is beneficial for both migrants and the host country. In this respect, granting citizenship could be an important policy to boost migrants’ integration. In this chapter, I estimate the causal impact of obtaining citizenship on migrants’ labor market integration. I exploit a change in the law of naturalization through marriage in France in 2006. This reform amended the eligibility criteria for applicants by increasing the required number of years of marital life from 2 to 4, generating an exogenous shock and thus a quasi-experimental setting. Using administrative panel data, and a difference-in-differences approach, I estimate the labor market returns to naturalization. I find that, among those working, citizenship leads to an increase in annual earnings. While the gain in earnings is similar for both men and women, the effect for men is mostly driven by an increase in hours worked compared to an increase in hourly wages for women. I provide suggestive evidence that naturalization helps reduce informality and discrimination. This chapter thus provides strong evidence that naturalization acts as a catalyst for labor market integration.Chapter 2 studies the post-colonial trends of income inequality in four ex-French colonies. Most ex-colonies have gained their independence during the decolonization wave in the last century. Recent research on the colonial legacy in terms of inequality has thus mostly focused on these independent states, overlooking the few territories which were assimilated by their ex-colonizers. This chapter analyzes the post-colonial inequality in four such territories- La Reunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane. Drawing on a new income tax dataset put together in this chapter, I study the evolution of income inequality since their decolonization in 1946 until recent years. The results of the top 1% income share a rapid decline of inequality since decolonization and stabilization in the recent decade. Despite the general catch-up of the overseas departments, the top 10% income share remained consistently higher than in the metropolis. Going further, I investigate the hidden underlying cleavage: the metropolitan-native divide. Using administrative data, I show that metropolitans are over-represented at the top of the distribution and that there exists a “metropolitan income premium” in the overseas departments, even after controlling for observable characteristics.Chapter 3 is joint work with Luis Bauluz, Filip Novokmet, and Daniel Sanchez Ordonez. It aims at measuring land inequality in a large variety of countries across different regions. It is known that agricultural land is vital for three out of four of the poorest billion individuals in the world yet little is known about its distribution. Existing cross-country estimates of land inequality, based on agriculture census data, measure the size distribution of agricultural holdings. These neither reflect land ownership inequality nor value inequality and often do not account for the landless population. In this chapter, we tackle these issues and provide novel and consistent estimates of land inequality across countries, based on household surveys. We show that i) land-value inequality can differ significantly from land-area inequality, ii) differences in the proportion of landless across countries vary substantially, affecting markedly inequality estimates and, iii) regional patterns in inequality according to our benchmark metric contradict existing estimates from agricultural censuses. Overall, South Asia and Latin America exhibit the highest inequality with top 10% landowners capturing up to 75% of agricultural land, followed by Africa and ‘Communist’ Asia (China and Vietnam) at levels around 55-60%

Post-colonial Trends of Income Inequality: Evidence from the Overseas Departments of France

Most ex-colonies have gained their independence during the decolonization wave in the last century. Recent research on the colonial legacy in terms of inequality has thus mostly focused on these independent states, overlooking the territories which have been assimilated by their ex-colonizers. This paper analyzes the post-colonial inequality in four such territories-La Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane. Drawing on a new income tax dataset put together in this paper, I study the evolution of income inequality in the four oldest French colonies, now overseas departments of France, since their decolonization in 1946 until recent years. The results of the top 1% income shares reveal a rapid decline of inequality since decolonization and stabilisation in the recent decade. Despite the general catch-up of the overseas departments, the top 10% income share remained consistently higher than in the metropolis. Going further, I investigate the underlying cleavage: the metropolitan-native divide. Matching recent fiscal data to the corresponding population census, I show that public-sector employment and metropolitans are over-represented at the top of the distribution and that there exist a "metropolitan income premium" in the overseas departments, even after controlling for observable characteristics

Post-colonial trends of income inequality in the Overseas Departments of France

Most ex-colonies have gained their independence during the decolonization wave in the last century. Recent research on the colonial legacy in terms of inequality has thus mostly focused on these independent states, overlooking the few territories which were assimilated by their ex-colonizers. This paper analyzes the post-colonial inequality in four such territories- La Reunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane. Despite the explicit aim of decolonization as being a rupture with their unequal colonial past, these territories have since witnessed ongoing protests and riots due to the perceived high level of socioeconomic disparities. Drawing on a new income tax dataset put together in this paper, I study the evolution of income inequality in the four oldest French colonies, now overseas departments of France, since their decolonization in 1946 until recent years. The results of the top 1\% income shares reveal an inverted-U shaped curve of inequality since decolonization. Despite the rapid decline in the level of inequality and the general catch-up of the overseas departments, the top 10\% income share remained consistently higher than in the metropolis. Going further, I investigate the hidden underlying cleavage: the metropolitan-native divide. Matching fiscal data of 2014 to the corresponding population census, I show that metropolitans are over-represented in the top of the distribution and that there exist a ``metropolitan income premium" in the overseas departments, even after controlling for observable characteristics

Essays on Inequality and Migration : a Post-Colonial and Global Perspective

This thesis focuses on the intricate link between inequality, migration, and colonization. Chapter 1 looks at the causal effect of naturalization on the labor market integration of foreigners. It is acknowledged that better integration is beneficial for both migrants and the host country. In this respect, granting citizenship could be an important policy to boost migrants’ integration. In this chapter, I estimate the causal impact of obtaining citizenship on migrants’ labor market integration. I exploit a change in the law of naturalization through marriage in France in 2006. This reform amended the eligibility criteria for applicants by increasing the required number of years of marital life from 2 to 4, generating an exogenous shock and thus a quasi-experimental setting. Using administrative panel data, and a difference-in-differences approach, I estimate the labor market returns to naturalization. I find that, among those working, citizenship leads to an increase in annual earnings. While the gain in earnings is similar for both men and women, the effect for men is mostly driven by an increase in hours worked compared to an increase in hourly wages for women. I provide suggestive evidence that naturalization helps reduce informality and discrimination. This chapter thus provides strong evidence that naturalization acts as a catalyst for labor market integration. Chapter 2 studies the post-colonial trends of income inequality in four ex-French colonies. Most ex-colonies have gained their independence during the decolonization wave in the last century. Recent research on the colonial legacy in terms of inequality has thus mostly focused on these independent states, overlooking the few territories which were assimilated by their ex-colonizers. This chapter analyzes the post-colonial inequality in four such territories- La Reunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane. Drawing on a new income tax dataset put together in this chapter, I study the evolution of income inequality since their decolonization in 1946 until recent years. The results of the top 1% income share a rapid decline of inequality since decolonization and stabilization in the recent decade. Despite the general catch-up of the overseas departments, the top 10% income share remained consistently higher than in the metropolis. Going further, I investigate the hidden underlying cleavage: the metropolitan-native divide. Using administrative data, I show that metropolitans are over-represented at the top of the distribution and that there exists a “metropolitan income premium” in the overseas departments, even after controlling for observable characteristics. Chapter 3 is joint work with Luis Bauluz, Filip Novokmet, and Daniel Sanchez Ordonez. It aims at measuring land inequality in a large variety of countries across different regions. It is known that agricultural land is vital for three out of four of the poorest billion individuals in the world yet little is known about its distribution. Existing cross-country estimates of land inequality, based on agriculture census data, measure the size distribution of agricultural holdings. These neither reflect land ownership inequality nor value inequality and often do not account for the landless population. In this chapter, we tackle these issues and provide novel and consistent estimates of land inequality across countries, based on household surveys. We show that i) land-value inequality can differ significantly from land-area inequality, ii) differences in the proportion of landless across countries vary substantially, affecting markedly inequality estimates and, iii) regional patterns in inequality according to our benchmark metric contradict existing estimates from agricultural censuses. Overall, South Asia and Latin America exhibit the highest inequality with top 10% landowners capturing up to 75% of agricultural land, followed by Africa and ‘Communist’ Asia (China and Vietnam) at levels around 55-60%

To become or not to become French: Conscription, naturalization, and labor market integration

We examine how changing the costs of acquiring citizenship translates into naturalization decisions for second-generation immigrants, and the effect of naturalization on their labor market outcomes. We exploit the abolition of mandatory military service in France as an exogenous reduction in the cost of citizenship for men. We find that the reform induced a jump in male naturalization rates, entirely driven by European Union citizens. Using a Synthetic Difference-in-Differences, we show that their probability to be in employment consequently increased by 2 percentage points, mainly through a reduction in inactivity rather than unemployment. We provide suggestive evidence that this effect is mainly driven by an increase in public-sector employment and a reduction in self-employment, and is associated with an enhanced sense of belonging

To become or not to become French: Conscription, naturalization, and labor market integration

We examine how changing the costs of acquiring citizenship translates into naturalization decisions for second-generation immigrants, and the effect of naturalization on their labor market outcomes. We exploit the abolition of mandatory military service in France as an exogenous reduction in the cost of citizenship for men. We find that the reform induced a jump in male naturalization rates, entirely driven by European Union citizens. Using a Synthetic Difference-in-Differences, we show that their probability to be in employment consequently increased by 2 percentage points, mainly through a reduction in inactivity rather than unemployment. We provide suggestive evidence that this effect is mainly driven by an increase in public-sector employment and a reduction in self-employment, and is associated with an enhanced sense of belonging

To become or not to become French: Conscription, naturalization, and labor market integration

We examine how changing the costs of acquiring citizenship translates into naturalization decisions for second-generation immigrants, and the effect of naturalization on their labor market outcomes. We exploit the abolition of mandatory military service in France as an exogenous reduction in the cost of citizenship for men. We find that the reform induced a jump in male naturalization rates, entirely driven by European Union citizens. Using a Synthetic Difference-inDifferences , we show that the probability of employment for EU males consequently increased by 2 percentage points, mainly through a reduction in inactivity rather than unemployment. We provide suggestive evidence that this effect is mainly driven by an increase in public-sector employment and a reduction in self-employment, and is associated with an enhanced sense of belonging