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The Effect of the 2004 and 2007 EU Enlargement on the Spanish Labour Market

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  • de la Rica, Sara

    (University of the Basque Country)

Abstract

The 2004 and 2007 EU enlargement has led to a significant increase in the immigration flow to Spain. Individuals from the new-EU-12 countries accounted for no more than 10% of the whole Spanish immigrant population in 2004, but by 2008 they accounted for almost 20% of the total flow of immigrants. As of 2008, immigrants from Bulgaria, Poland and Rumania account for 97 percent of new-EU-12 immigrants. These immigrants are younger, and the vast majority of them are educated to secondary level. Their employment rate is higher than that of natives, but they are hit harder by unemployment than natives. Our results point to two conclusions from a policy prospective: first, the EU enlargement has significantly improved legal immigration from new-EU-12 countries. Second, the lack of employment assimilation in terms of job quality for workers from the new-EU-12 countries may discourage the entrance of highly qualified workers. The Spanish authorities should provide on-the-job training for these qualified workers so that they can find adequate job prospects in Spain and decide to stay.

Suggested Citation

  • de la Rica, Sara, 2009. "The Effect of the 2004 and 2007 EU Enlargement on the Spanish Labour Market," IZA Discussion Papers 4104, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4104
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    Cited by:

    1. Pablo Swedberg, 2010. "The impact of education and host language skills on the labor market outcomes of immigrants in Spain," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 5, in: María Jesús Mancebón-Torrubia & Domingo P. Ximénez-de-Embún & José María Gómez-Sancho & Gregorio Gim (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 5, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 41, pages 798-824, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    assimilation; immigration; EU enlargement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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