IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rut/rutres/200630.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Migrants, Ethnicity and Strategic Assimilation

Author

Listed:
  • Gil S. Epstein

    (Bar-Ilan University)

  • Ira N Gang

    (Rutgers University)

Abstract

Ethnic networks are a way of overcoming informal barriers to trade such as information costs, risk, and uncertainty by building trust and by substituting for the difficulty of enforcing contracts internationally. We study networks which emerge from the interaction (i) between migrants and natives in the host country and (ii) between migrants and natives in their home country. The degree of assimilation and the strength of the networks do not “just happen”, but are the outcomes of strategic choices of subsets of the migrant population.

Suggested Citation

  • Gil S. Epstein & Ira N Gang, 2006. "Migrants, Ethnicity and Strategic Assimilation," Departmental Working Papers 200630, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:rut:rutres:200630
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sas.rutgers.edu/virtual/snde/wp/2006-30.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rapoport, Hillel & Weiss, Avi, 2003. "The optimal size for a minority," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 27-45, September.
    2. Ira N. Gang & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2000. "Is Child like Parent? Educational Attainment and Ethnic Origin," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 35(3), pages 550-569.
    3. Gil S. Epstein & Ira N. Gang, 2006. "Ethnic Networks and International Trade," Springer Books, in: Rolf J. Langhammer & Federico Foders (ed.), Labor Mobility and the World Economy, pages 85-103, Springer.
    4. Gil Epstein & Shmuel Nitzan, 2006. "Reduced prizes and increased effort in contests," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 26(3), pages 447-453, June.
    5. Edward P. Lazear, 1999. "Culture and Language," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 95-126, December.
    6. Lindbeck, Assar & Snower, Dennis J, 1988. "Cooperation, Harassment, and Involuntary Unemployment: An Insider-Outsider Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(1), pages 167-188, March.
    7. Alberto Bisin & Thierry Verdier, 2000. ""Beyond the Melting Pot": Cultural Transmission, Marriage, and the Evolution of Ethnic and Religious Traits," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 115(3), pages 955-988.
    8. Gradstein, Mark & Justman, Moshe, 2005. "The melting pot and school choice," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(5-6), pages 871-896, June.
    9. Kahanec, M., 2004. "Social Interaction and the Minority-Majority Earnings Inequality : Why Being a Minority Hurts but being a big Minority Hurts More," Discussion Paper 2004-41, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    10. James E. Rauch, 2001. "Business and Social Networks in International Trade," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1177-1203, December.
    11. Gil S. Epstein, 2003. "Labor Market Interactions Between Legal and Illegal Immigrants," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 7(1), pages 30-43, February.
    12. Mark Gradstein & Maurice Schiff, 2006. "The political economy of social exclusion, with implications for immigration policy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 19(2), pages 327-344, June.
    13. Francisco L. Rivera-Batiz, 2018. "The Labor Market Effects of Immigration in the United States and Europe: Substitution vs. Complementarity," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Francisco L Rivera-Batiz (ed.), International and Interregional Migration Theory and Evidence, chapter 4, pages 47-74, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    14. Chiswick, Barry R, 1978. "The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-born Men," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 897-921, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gil S. Epstein & Ira N. Gang, 2009. "Ethnicity, assimilation, and harassment in the labor market," Research in Labor Economics, in: Ethnicity and Labor Market Outcomes, pages 67-88, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    2. Gil S. Epstein & Ira N. Gang, 2006. "Ethnic Networks and International Trade," Springer Books, in: Rolf J. Langhammer & Federico Foders (ed.), Labor Mobility and the World Economy, pages 85-103, Springer.
    3. Gil S. Epstein & Ira N. Gang, 2010. "A Political Economy of the Immigrant Assimilation: Internal Dynamics," Working Papers 2010-13, Bar-Ilan University, Department of Economics.
    4. Epstein, Gil S. & Mealem, Yosef, 2010. "Interactions between Local and Migrant Workers at the Workplace," IZA Discussion Papers 5051, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Gil S. Epstein, 2012. "Migrants, Ethnicity and the Welfare State," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 28, pages 117-136.
    6. Gil Epstein, 2007. "Extremism within the family," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 20(3), pages 707-715, July.
    7. Gil S. Epstein, 2013. "Frontier issues of the political economy of migration," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 22, pages 411-431, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Gradstein, Mark & Justman, Moshe, 2019. "Cultural interaction and economic development: An overview," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 243-251.
    9. Ilhom Abdulloev & Gil S. Epstein & Ira N. Gang, 2014. "Ethnic Goods and Immigrant Assimilation," Working Papers 2014-03, Bar-Ilan University, Department of Economics.
    10. Gil Epstein, 2009. "Willingness to Assimilate and Ethnicity," Nordic Journal of Political Economy, Nordic Journal of Political Economy, vol. 35, pages 1-1.
    11. Gil S. Epstein & Renana Lindner Pomerantz, 2013. "Assimilation through Marriage," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 191-203, May.
    12. Gradstein, Mark & Justman, Moshe, 2019. "Immigration, Diversity and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 14008, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. Alberto Bisin & Eleonora Patacchini & Thierry Verdier & Yves Zenou, 2011. "Ethnic identity and labour market outcomes of immigrants in Europe [Assessing the oppositional culture explanation for racial/ethnic differences in school performance]," Economic Policy, CEPR;CES;MSH, vol. 26(65), pages 57-92.
    14. Verdier, Thierry & Zenou, Yves, 2017. "The role of social networks in cultural assimilation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 15-39.
    15. Justman, Moshe & Gradstein, Mark, 2001. "Public Education and the Melting Pot," CEPR Discussion Papers 2924, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Zhiling Wang & Thomas de Graaff & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Barriers of Culture, Networks, and Language in International Migration: A Review," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 5, pages 73-89.
    17. William R. Kerr & Martin Mandorff, 2023. "Social Networks, Ethnicity, and Entrepreneurship," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(1), pages 183-220.
    18. Gil S. Epstein & Odelia Heizler (Cohen), 2016. "Networks in the Diaspora," Development Working Papers 389, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    19. Gil S. Epstein & Odelia Heizler (Cohen), 2016. "The formation of networks in the diaspora," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 37(7), pages 1136-1153, October.
    20. Alan Manning & Sanchari Roy, 2007. "Culture Clash or Culture Club? The Identity and Attitudes of Immigrants in Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp0790, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Assimilation; migration; ethnic networks; contracts;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rut:rutres:200630. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/derutus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.