A Note on the Redistributive Effect of Immigration

In this paper, we study gains and losses that accrue to natives because of immigration. The gain on the aggregated level is called the 'immigration surplus', which can be seen as analogous to a consumer surplus. We derive changes in the earnings of native owners of production factors by employing a stylized model with capital and two types of labour. We claim that the changes in earnings are larger than reported by previous studies, and we propose a new method to tally them up to the immigration surplus.

Immigration and the Dutch economy

For some time now, immigration has been high on the national and international agenda. In addition to the legal, humanitarian and social aspects, the economic impact of immigration is receiving increasing attention. Read also the accompanying press release .What costs and benefits of immigration accrue to the host country? How can immigration and integration policies be modified so as to improve the balance? Is immigration an effective instrument in alleviating the burden of ageing? What can we learn from traditional immigration countries like Australia, Canada and the United States? The international economic literature is not always conclusive in answering the questions raised. Much depends on the specific circumstances and institutions in the host country. This study focuses on the Netherlands as a host country for immigrants. Employing methods extracted from the literature, in combination with data on the Dutch economy, we assess the impact of immigration on the labour market, the public sector and the physical environment. The results may contribute to the debate on immigration and integration policy both in the Netherlands and at the European level.

The labour market position of Turkish immigrants in Germany and the Netherlands; reason for migration, naturalisation and language proficiency

On the basis of two datasets, the German Socio-Economic Panel 2002 and the Dutch Social Position and Use of Provision Survey 2002, we investigate the importance of characteristics related to immigration for the labour market position of Turkish immigrants. We use regression techniques to correct for composition effects in employment rates, tenured job rates and job prestige scores (ISEI). First, we find that educational attainment and language proficiency have a higher return in the Netherlands than in Germany. Second, we find that second generation immigrants have improved their labour market position relative to the first generation of labour migrants and their partners. The improvement is largely due to an improvement in educational attainment and language proficiency. Third, for the Netherlands we find a positive relation between naturalisation and labour market position, while for Germany we find a negative relation with tenured employment. The contrasting results on tenured employment may be explained partly by differences in immigration rules. In Germany, economic self-reliance is more important than in the Netherlands, and this may lead to a stronger incentive to naturalise for workers with a temporary contract.