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The male immigrant–native employment gap in Sweden: migrant admission categories and human capital

Author

Listed:
  • Marc-André Luik

    (Helmut Schmidt University)

  • Henrik Emilsson

    (Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare)

  • Pieter Bevelander

    (Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare
    IZA)

Abstract

Despite having a celebrated labor market integration policy, the immigrant–native employment gap in Sweden is one of the largest in the OECD. From a cross-country perspective, a key explanation might be migrant admission group composition. In this study we use high-quality detailed Swedish register data to estimate male employment gaps between non-EU/EES labour, family reunification and humanitarian migrants and natives. Moreover, we test if differences in human capital are able to explain rising employment integration heterogeneity. Our results indicate that employment integration is highly correlated with admission category. Interestingly, differences in human capital, demographic and contextual factors seem to explain only a small share of this correlation. Evidence from auxiliary regressions suggests that low transferability of human capital among humanitarian and family migrants might be part of the story. The article highlights the need to understand and account for migrant admission categories when studying employment integration.

Suggested Citation

  • Marc-André Luik & Henrik Emilsson & Pieter Bevelander, 2018. "The male immigrant–native employment gap in Sweden: migrant admission categories and human capital," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 363-398, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joprea:v:35:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s12546-018-9206-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s12546-018-9206-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Stefan Jestl & Michael Landesmann & Sebastian Leitner & Barbara Wanek-Zajic, 2022. "Trajectories of Employment Gaps of Refugees and Other Migrants: Evidence from Austria," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(2), pages 609-669, April.
    2. Scott Feinstein & Cristina Poleacovschi & Riley Drake & Leslie Ann Winters, 2022. "States and Refugee Integration: a Comparative Analysis of France, Germany, and Switzerland," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 2167-2194, December.
    3. Auer, Daniel & Götz, Lilia, 2021. "Refugee migration, labor demand, and local employment," GLO Discussion Paper Series 989, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labour market integration; Sweden; Human capital; Migration categories; Employment gaps;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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