Policy-Driven Migrant Selection and Labor Market Outcomes of Immigrants in Sweden and Denmark

Fátima de Arriba Moreno , Lund University
Jonas Helgertz, University of Minnesota/Lund University
Anna Tegunimataka, Lund University

Denmark and Sweden have been hosting countries for similar types of migration since the 1980s. However, despite sharing the same socioeconomic characteristics, their migration policies have followed contrary paths since the 2000s. The consequences of these numerous policies have not yet been fully addressed in the literature. The starting point of this paper will be the first tighter policies implemented by Denmark in 2002, aimed at limiting a certain type of immigration, such as longer waiting times for obtaining residency and higher requirements for family reunification. The object of study will be to understand the consequences of this shift on the selection of migrants in terms of educational attainment and labor market outcomes after their arrival. For this, we will use register data from Denmark and Sweden, focusing on those origin countries which were more exposed to the change in policies and, at the same time, were the bigger source countries at that time. The policy change is expected to have resulted in a decline in the number of arriving in Denmark, contrary to a stable flow in Sweden. Regarding income outcomes, we expect an increase in the income of those who were targeted by the policies, showing a potential positive selection after the reform. The study of the consequences of these policies will help address its real impact and the consequences they may bring forward, as well as a better design of immigration policy based on empirical evidence.

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 Presented in Session P3. Migration, Economics, Policies, History