IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v12y2024i7p167-d1426228.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding Economic Integration in Immigrant and Refugee Populations: A Scoping Review of Concepts and Metrics in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Mitra Naseh

    (Initiative on Social Work and Forced Migration, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Jihye Lee

    (Initiative on Social Work and Forced Migration, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Yingying Zeng

    (School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA)

  • Proscovia Nabunya

    (International Center for Child Health and Development, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Valencia Alvarez

    (Initiative on Social Work and Forced Migration, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

  • Meena Safi

    (Initiative on Social Work and Forced Migration, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA)

Abstract

In an increasingly mobile world, the integration of immigrants and displaced individuals is an important factor in creating cohesive and inclusive societies. Integration has different dimensions; this scoping review examines the conceptualization and measurement of economic integration among immigrants and refugees in the United States. Quantitative peer-reviewed journal papers measuring or conceptualizing the economic integration of first-generation documented adult immigrants or refugees in the United States, as well as relevant conceptual or theory papers on this topic, were included in the review. The search strategy included an online search of the Web of Science Core Collection, PsycINFO, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), and EconLit. Additional search strategies included scanning the reference lists of studies identified as relevant in the initial database search. An analysis of 72 studies included in the review using a data extraction table reveals seven key domains of economic integration: income and economic security, employment and occupational categories, assets and use of financial services, neighborhood and housing, health, education, and use of public assistance. Income and economic security emerged as the most common indicators of integration in the reviewed studies. Notably, less than half of the reviewed publications had a multidimensional approach to defining or measuring economic integration, and the majority of studies were focused on immigrants, with a smaller proportion dedicated to refugees. This review emphasizes the need for comprehensive frameworks in assessing economic integration among immigrants and refugees, reflecting the multifaceted nature of their economic integration experiences.

Suggested Citation

  • Mitra Naseh & Jihye Lee & Yingying Zeng & Proscovia Nabunya & Valencia Alvarez & Meena Safi, 2024. "Understanding Economic Integration in Immigrant and Refugee Populations: A Scoping Review of Concepts and Metrics in the United States," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:7:p:167-:d:1426228
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/7/167/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/7/167/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas K. Bauer & Deborah A. Cobb‐Clark & Vincent A. Hildebrand & Mathias G. Sinning, 2011. "A Comparative Analysis Of The Nativity Wealth Gap," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 49(4), pages 989-1007, October.
    2. Bernt Bratsberg & Erling Barth & Oddbjørn Raaum, 2006. "Local Unemployment and the Relative Wages of Immigrants: Evidence from the Current Population Surveys," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 243-263, May.
    3. Anna Paulson & Sherrie Rhine, 2008. "The Financial Assimilation of an Immigrant Group: Evidence on the Use of Checking and Savings Accounts and Currency Exchanges," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 264-278, June.
    4. Ran Abramitzky & Leah Platt Boustan & Katherine Eriksson, 2014. "A Nation of Immigrants: Assimilation and Economic Outcomes in the Age of Mass Migration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(3), pages 467-506.
    5. Swarnankur Chatterjee & Velma Zahirovic-Herbert, 2014. "A road to assimilation: immigrants and financial markets," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 38(2), pages 345-358, April.
    6. Mary Antonia Silles, 2018. "The Effects of Language Skills on the Economic Assimilation of Female Immigrants in the United States," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 86(6), pages 789-815, December.
    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. Graziella Bertocchi & Marianna Brunetti & Anzelika Zaiceva, 2023. "The Financial Decisions of Immigrant and Native Households: Evidence from Italy," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(1), pages 117-174, March.
    2. Dustmann, Christian & Görlach, Joseph-Simon, 2016. "Estimating immigrant earnings profiles when migrations are temporary," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1-8.
    3. Maria Balgova & Hannah Illing, 2023. "Job Displacement and Migrant Labor Market Assimilation," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 246, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    4. Bernt Bratsberg & Giovanni Facchini & Tommaso Frattini & Anna Cecilia Rosso, 2023. "Are political and economic integration intertwined?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(360), pages 1265-1306, October.
    5. Maria Balgova & Hannah Illing, 2024. "The labour market costs of job displacement by migrant status," Bank of England working papers 1099, Bank of England.
    6. Mária Balgová & Hannah Illing, 2023. "Job Displacement and Migrant Labor Market Assimilation," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_457, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    7. Durba Chakrabarty & Michael J. Osei & John V. Winters & Danyang Zhao, 2019. "Which immigrant and minority homeownership rates are gaining ground in the US?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(2), pages 273-297, April.
    8. Lee, Taehoon & Peri, Giovanni & Viarengo, Martina, 2022. "The gender aspect of migrants’ assimilation in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. Stelios Roupakias, 2025. "Immigrant assimilation in the Greek labor market," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 46(5), pages 936-955, March.
    10. Luik, Marc-André & Steinhardt, Max Friedrich, 2016. "Immigrant-native differences in stockholding – The role of cognitive and non-cognitive skills," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(PA), pages 103-119.
    11. Balgova, Maria & Illing, Hannah, 2023. "Job Displacement and Migrant Labor Market Assimilation," IZA Discussion Papers 16349, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Balgova, Maria & Illing, Hannah, 2024. "The Labor Market Costs of Job Displacement by Migrant Status," IZA Discussion Papers 17496, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Vincent Geloso & Linan Peng, 2024. "Postbellum electoral politics in California and the genesis of the Chinese exclusion act of 1882," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 403-434, June.
    14. Naguib, Costanza, 2019. "Estimating the Heterogeneous Impact of the Free Movement of Persons on Relative Wage Mobility," Economics Working Paper Series 1903, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    15. John Gibson & Trinh Le & Steven Stillman, 2007. "What explains the wealth gap between immigrants and the New Zealand born?," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 131-162.
    16. Biavaschi, Costanza & Facchini, Giovanni, 2020. "Immigrant Franchise and Immigration Policy: Evidence from the Progressive Era," IZA Discussion Papers 13195, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Guillaume Claveres & Thomas Y. Mathä & Giuseppe Pulina & Jan Stráský & Nicolas Woloszko & Michael Ziegelmeyer, 2020. "Housing and inequality: The case of Luxembourg and its cross-border workers," BCL working papers 144, Central Bank of Luxembourg.
    18. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht & Vogel, Thorsten, 2010. "Employment, wages, and the economic cycle: Differences between immigrants and natives," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 1-17, January.
    19. Eriksson, Katherine & Alsan, Marcella & Niemesh, Gregory T., 2020. "Understanding the Success of the Know-Nothing Party," CEPR Discussion Papers 15562, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Ihley, Dorothee & Siebert-Meyerhoff, Andrea, 2016. "The evolution of immigrants' homeownership in Germany," CAWM Discussion Papers 92, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:gam:jecomi:v:12:y:2024:i:7:p:167-:d:1426228. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.