The effect of a culturally diverse population on regional income in EU regions

After the crisis years of 2008 and 2009 EU countries followed different employment pathes. Employment and wage levels, for instance, are quite unevenly distributed across Europe. Some of the member states expect labour shortages due to demographic change in the future. If this is the case, wages will rise when the shortages occur. From literature on migration it is well known that regions with relatively higher income levels and a lower risk of unemployment are typical destination countries for immigration. Thus, European regions might be expected to become rather mixed in cultural terms in the future. Despite the filling of the labour market and the redistribution of the resource of labour, the ultimate question raised in the discussion is whether there are additional gains or losses due to immigration. This work therefore focuses on the impact of migrants on regional GDP per capita for European regions. Does the proportion of foreigners in the labour force increase or lower regional income? Does the composition of non-natives with respect to their countries of origin matter? Both questions are addressed in this study while controlling for endogeneity. We provide evidence that immigration raises regional income and a tendency towards (roughly classified) dominant foreign-born groups reduces the costs of interaction and integration. Thus, in general immigration has a positive effect on regional performance and the costs of immigration in destination regions are balanced out. Depending on the labour market status of migrants, the regions of orgin of migrants within the EU face a rise or decline in income as a result of the outflow.

A Population Based Regional Dynamic Microsimulation of Germany: The MikroSim Model

Microsimulation models are widely used to evaluate the potential effects of different policies on social indicators. Most microsimulation models in use operate on a national level, disregarding regional variations. We describe the construction of a national microsimulation model for Germany, accounting for local variations in each of the more than 10,000 communities in Germany. The database used and the mechanisms implementing the population dynamics are described. Finally, the further development of the database and microsimulation programs are outlined, which will contribute towards a research lab that will be made available to the wider scientific community

Flüchtlingsmonitoring: Endbericht

Der hohe Zustrom von Flüchtlingen nach Deutschland in den letzten Jahren hat Politik und Gesellschaft vor die Herausforderung gestellt, eine effektive Integrationspolitik mit begrenzten Informationen zu fördern. Die vorliegende Untersuchung zielt darauf ab, anhand fundierter wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse zur Debatte und Entscheidungsfindung beizutragen. Hierfür wird auf die repräsentative IAB-BAMF-SOEP Befragung von Geflüchteten zurückgegriffen, die 2016 und 2017 erhoben wurde und die in Kapitel 1 genauer vorgestellt wird. In Kapitel 2 werden zunächst die Situation der Geflüchteten in den Herkunftsländern, ihre Entscheidung die Heimat zu verlassen und nach Deutschland zu fliehen, sowie die Dauer und Kosten der Flucht analysiert. Das dritte Kapitel untersucht bestehende Unterschiede zwischen den Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen von Geflüchteten und der Bevölkerung in Deutschland ohne und mit Migrationshintergrund. Anschließend werden in Kapitel 4 die Fertigkeiten, Kompetenzen und Arbeitsmarkterfahrung präsentiert, die die Geflüchteten nach Deutschland mitbringen und weiterhin untersucht, inwieweit die Geflüchteten ihre mitgebrachten beruflichen Qualifikationen anerkennen lassen. Kapitel 5 erörtert den Fortschritt der Deutschsprachkompetenzen der Geflüchteten sowie dessen Determinanten. Werte und Einstellungen, soziale Kontakte sowie Diskriminierungserfahrungen der Geflüchteten werden in Kapitel 6 behandelt. Die Entwicklung der Arbeitsmarktintegration der Geflüchteten in Deutschland ist zentrales Thema des Abschlusskapitels.The high influx of refugees to Germany in recent years has confronted politicians and society with the challenge of promoting effective integration policies with limited information about the persons concerned. The aim of the present study is to provide scientific evidence to contribute to the debate and decision-making. Therefore, we use the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees - a representative survey of refugees in Germany, surveyed in 2016 and 2017, which is elaborated in chapter 1. Chapter 2 describes the variation in the escape routes used by refugees as well as various hurdles (such as time and monetary costs) that refugees encountered on their escape to Germany. Chapter 3 highlights the differences and commonalities of personality traits between refugees, natives and other immigrants. Chapter 4 provides an overview on the skills, competencies and labor market experiences that refugees acquired before their migration to Germany and on the possibilities to recognize foreign educational degrees. Chapter 5 examines the progress in language acquisition and determinants of German language proficiency among refugees. Chapter 6 discusses refugees' values and attitudes, social contacts and experiences of discrimination. The final Chapter figures out the development and determinants of labor market integration of refugees in Germany

The Effect of a Culturally Diverse Population on Regional Income in EU Regions

After the crisis years of 2008 and 2009 EU countries followed different employment paths. Employment and wage levels, for instance, are quite unevenly distributed across Europe. Some of the EU countries expect labour shortages due to demographic change in the future. If this is the case, wages will rise when the shortages occur. From literature on migration it is well known that regions with relatively higher income levels and a lower risk of unemployment are typical destination countries for immigration. Thus, European regions might be expected to become rather mixed in cultural terms in the future. Despite the filling of the labour market and the redistribution of the resource of labour, the ultimate question raised in the discussion is whether there are additional gains or losses due to immigration. This work therefore focuses on the impact of migrants on regional GDP per capita for European regions. Does the proportion of foreigners in the labour force increase or lower regional income? Does the composition of non-natives with respect to their countries of origin matter? Both questions are addressed in this study while controlling for endogeneity. We provide evidence that immigration raises regional income and a tendency towards (roughly classified) dominant foreign-born groups reduces the costs of interaction and integration. Thus, in general immigration has a positive effect on regional performance and the costs of immigration in destination regions are balanced out. Depending on the labour market status of migrants, the regions of origin of migrants within the EU face a rise or decline in income as a result of the outflow.Regional Income, Cultural Diversity, Effects of Immigration