Are Ethnic Minorities More Likely to Emigrate? Evidence from Latvia

Abstract

Drawing on survey data on emigration intentions in Latvia, this paper studies emigration intentions of minorities. The paper shows, that after controlling for other factors, the probability of emigration of a Russian minority individual is higher than that of a majority individual. For Russian speakers, higher education and income levels are associated with higher probability of emigration. These findings can be explained by linguistic discrimination on the labour market and inefficient minority integration policies, such as minority education reform.Emigration, ethnic minorities, discrimination, Latvia, EU enlargement.