Ethnic Enclaves and Immigrant Labour Market Outcomes: Quasi-Experimental Evidence

This study investigates empirically how residence in ethnic enclaves affects labour market outcomes of refugees. Self-selection into ethnic enclaves in terms of unobservable characteristics is taken into account by exploitation of a Danish spatial dispersal policy which randomly disperses new refugees across locations conditional on six individual-specific characteristics. The results show that refugees with unfavourable unobserved characteristics are found to self-select into ethnic enclaves. Furthermore, taking account of negative self-selection, a relative standard deviation increase in ethnic group size on average increases the employment probability of refugees by 4 percentage points and earnings by 21 percent. I argue that in case of heterogenous treatment effects, the estimated effects are local average treatment effects.Migration

Determinants of Recent Immigrants’ Location Choices: Quasi-Experimental Evidence

This paper exploits a Danish spatial dispersal policy on refugees which can be regarded a natural experiment to investigate the influence of regional factors on recent immigrants’ location choices. The main push factors are lack of co-ethnics and presence of immigrants. Additional push factors are lack of access to jobs, education and housing which explain why recent immigrants are attracted to large cities. Finally, placed refugees are sensitive to regional unemployment and some evidence of welfare seeking is presented as well.location choices; push factors; immigrants

Ethnic Enclaves and Immigrant Labour Market Outcomes: Quasi-Experimental Evidence.

This study investigates empirically how residence in ethnic enclaves affects labour market outcomes of refugees. Self-selection into ethnic enclaves in terms of unobservable characteristics is taken into account by exploitation of a Danish spatial dispersal policy which randomly disperses new refugees across locations conditional on six individual-specific characteristics. The results show that refugees with unfavourable unobserved characteristics are found to self-select into ethnic enclaves. Furthermore, taking account of negative self-selection, a relative standard deviation increase in ethnic group size on average increases the employment probability of refugees by 4 percentage points and earnings by 21 percent. I argue that in case of heterogeneous treatment effects, the estimated effects are local average treatment effectsEthnic Enclaves; Employment; Earnings; LATE

Employment Effects of Spatial Dispersal of Refugees

Spatial dispersal policies may influence labour market integration of refugees through two mechanisms. First, it may affect the local job offer arrival rate, and second, it may affect place utility. We investigate the second mechanism theoretically by formulating a partial search model in which an individual searches simultaneously for a job and for a new residential location. The model predicts that the reservation wage for local jobs is decreasing in place utility. We argue that spatial dispersal policies decrease average place utility of refugees which decrease the transition rate into first job due to large local reservation wage effects. We investigate both mechanisms empirically and test the predictions of the theoretical model by evaluating the employment effects of the Danish spatial dispersal policy carried out 1986-1998.spatial dispersal policy; job search; residential search; employment; migration

Immigrants’ Location Preferences: Exploiting a Natural Experiment

This paper exploits a dispersal policy for refugee immigrants to estimate the importance of local and regional factors for refugees’ location preferences. The main results of a mixed proportional hazard competing risks model are that placed refugees react to high regional unemployment and lack of a local immigrant population by migrating to large municipalities. Lack of local fellow countrymen, however, increases the exit rate to medium-sized as well as large municipalities. This finding is likely to be a result of the dispersal policy. Finally, refugees react strongly to assignment to small municipalities by migrating mainly to medium-sized municipalities.Location Preferences; Internal Migration; Immigrants; Dispersal Policies; Duration Analysis

Employment Effects of Spatial Dispersal of Refugees

We argue that spatial dispersal policies on refugees and asylum seekers influence labour market assimilation of refugees through two mechanisms: first, the local job offer arrival rate and, second, place utility. Our partial search model with simultaneous job and residential location search predicts that the reservation wage for local jobs decreases with place utility. We argue that spatial dispersal decreases average place utility of refugees which decreases the transition rate into first job due to large local reservation wages. We investigate both mechanisms empirically and test the predictions of the theoretical model by evaluating the employment effects of the Danish spatial dispersal policy carried out 1986-1998.Migration

Employment Effects of Dispersal Policies on Refugee Immigrants: Theory

This paper formulates a partial search model in which unemployed individuals simultaneously search for job and location of residence. Most importantly, we show that, ceteris paribus, a decrease in current place utility increases the transition rate into a new location of residence and the transition rate into employment outside the local labour market, but decreases the transition rate into local employment. Thus, a decrease in current place utility decreases the overall job-finding rate if the local reservation wage effect dominates. We argue that dispersal policies on refugee immigrants are characterised by low average values of current place utility. Hence, the model predicts that dispersal policies increase the geographical mobility rates of refugees and, for a sufficiently large local reservation wage effect, decrease their job-finding rates.Job Search; Residential Search; Geographical Mobility; Dispersal Policy on Refugees

The Danish Dispersal Policy on Refugee Immigrants 1986-1998: A Natural Experiment?

This paper investigates whether the Danish Dispersal Policy on new refugee immigrants carried out from 1986 to 1998 can be regarded as a natural experiment. Were refugees randomly assigned to a location? The main findings are as follows. First, around 90% of new refugees were assigned to a location. Second, the dispersal policy successfully distributed new refugees equally across locations relative to the number of inhabitants in a location. Third, the actual settlement may have been influenced by six refugee characteristics. I conclude that the initial location of new refugees 1986-1998 may be regarded as random, when controlling for family status, need of treatment, educational needs, location of close family and friends and nationality at the time of immigration as well as year of immigration.Dispersal Policies; Refugee Immigrants; Natural Experiments

The Construction of Neighbourhoods and its Relevance for the Measurement of Social and Ethnic Segregation: Evidence from Denmark

In this paper we propose a model for constructing neighbourhoods based on geo-referenced data and administrative data. The 431,233 inhabited hectare cells in Denmark are clustered into 9,404 small and 2,296 large neighbourhoods, inhabited on average in 2004 by 572 and 2,343 persons respectively. The priorities in the clustering process are to obtain neighbourhoods that are unaltered over time, delineated by physical barriers, compact, homogeneous in terms of type of housing and ownership, relatively small, homogeneous in terms of number of inhabitants, and comprised of a contiguous cluster of cells. To illustrate the importance of detailed neighbourhood information we compare social and ethnic segregation measured by Isolation and Dissimilation indices on the levels of municipalities and of small neighbourhoods. Our findings demonstrate substantial variation in the residential mix in neighbourhoods within a given municipality, and thus show the importance of having information on a more detailed geographical level than that of the municipality.geo-referenced data, neighbourhoods, segregation