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Naturalization and Earnings: A Denmark–Sweden Comparison

Author

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  • Jonas Helgertz
  • Pieter Bevelander
  • Anna Tegunimataka

Abstract

The determinants and consequences of the naturalization of immigrants is a hot topic in the political debate in Europe. This article compares the effect of naturalization on the income attainment of immigrants in two Scandinavian countries, Denmark and Sweden, using longitudinal register data from 1986 and onward. Sweden is characterized by low obstacles to naturalization, and existing studies provide inconclusive evidence regarding the impact of naturalization on labor market outcomes. Denmark is instead characterized by higher barriers to naturalization, as well as a virtual inexistence of previous studies on the topic. Results, obtained through individual fixed-effect regression analysis, suggest similar effects in both countries. A consistent naturalization premium is detected for immigrants of Asian and African descent, but not for any other immigrant group. The similarity across contexts arguably questions the use of more stringent naturalization laws to promote the economic integration of immigrants. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Helgertz & Pieter Bevelander & Anna Tegunimataka, 2014. "Naturalization and Earnings: A Denmark–Sweden Comparison," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 337-359, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:30:y:2014:i:3:p:337-359
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-014-9315-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Ivana Fellini & Raffaele Guetto, 2019. "Legal Status and Immigrants’ Labour Market Outcomes: Comparative Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment in Western and Southern Europe," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2019_11, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    2. Vahan Sargsyan, 2017. "Treatment-Related Naturalization Premiums in Two European Countries: Evaluation and Comparison," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp585, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    3. Christina Gathmann & Ole Monscheuer & Christina Felfe & Helmut Rainer & Swantje Falcke & Paolo Pinotti & Graziella Bertocchi & Chiara Strozzi, 2020. "Naturalization of (Young) Migrants: Catalyst or Reward for Successful Integration?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 73(11), pages 03-24, November.
    4. Fasani, Francesco & Frattini, Tommaso & Pirot, Maxime, 2023. "From Refugees to Citizens: Labor Market Returns to Naturalization," IZA Discussion Papers 16651, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Floris Peters & Hans Schmeets & Maarten Vink, 2020. "Naturalisation and Immigrant Earnings: Why and to Whom Citizenship Matters," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(3), pages 511-545, July.
    6. Céline Piton & François Rycx, 2021. "A Broken Social Elevator? Employment Outcomes of First- and Second-Generation Immigrants in Belgium," De Economist, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 319-365, August.
    7. Jan Saarela & Kirk Scott, 2020. "Naturalization in a Context of Free Mobility: Evidence from Cross-National Data on Finnish Immigrants in Sweden," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(2), pages 317-335, April.
    8. Swantje Falcke, 2020. "Naturalization as a Catalyst for Integration: A Heterogeneous Picture," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 21(04), pages 23-24, November.
    9. Zwysen, Wouter & Demireva, Neli, 2020. "Who benefits from host country skills? Evidence of heterogeneous labour market returns to host country skills by migrant motivation," ISER Working Paper Series 2020-06, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    10. Catron, Peter, 2017. "The Citizenship Advantage: Immigrant Socioeconomic Attainment across Generations in the First Half of the Twentieth Century," SocArXiv c7k45, Center for Open Science.
    11. Neli Demireva, 2019. "Receiving Country Investments and Acquisitions: How Migrants Negotiate the Adaptation to Their Destination," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(4), pages 18-27.
    12. Miao Chi & Michael Coon, 2020. "Variations in Naturalization Premiums by Country of Origin," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 102-125, January.
    13. Céline Piton, 2022. "The labour market performance of vulnerable groups: towards a better understanding of the main driving forces," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/352519, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    14. Vahan Sargsyan, 2018. "Social Integration of Immigrants and the Attitude of the Native Population in European Countries," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp629, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    15. Rezart Hoxhaj & Maarten Vink & Tijana Prokic-Breuer, 2019. "Immigrant Naturalisation, Employment and Occupational Status in Western Europe," RSCAS Working Papers 2019/16, European University Institute.

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