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Skill Downgrading among Refugees and Economic Immigrants in Germany: Evidence from the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Nikolov, Plamen

    (Harvard Institute for Quantitative Social Science)

  • Salarpour Goodarzi, Leila

    (Binghamton University, New York)

  • Titus, David

    (University of Victoria)

Abstract

Upon arrival to a new country, many immigrants face job downgrading, a phenomenon describing workers being in jobs far below where they would be assigned based on their skills. Downgrading leads to immigrants receiving lower returns to the same skills than natives. The level of downgrading could depend on the type of immigrant and numerous factors. This study examines the determinants of skill downgrading among two types of immigrants – refugees and economic immigrants – in the German labor markets between 1984 and 2018. We find that refugees downgrade more than economic immigrants, and this discrepancy between the two groups persists over time. We show that language skill improvements exert a strong influence on subsequent labor market outcomes of both groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolov, Plamen & Salarpour Goodarzi, Leila & Titus, David, 2022. "Skill Downgrading among Refugees and Economic Immigrants in Germany: Evidence from the Syrian Refugee Crisis," IZA Discussion Papers 15426, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15426
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Piotr Lewandowski & Agata Gorny & Mateusz Krzakała & Marta Palczynska, 2025. "This paper studies how job task routinization shapes return intentions of Ukrainian war refugees in Poland following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Using two waves of nationwide su," IBS Working Papers 01/2025, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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