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The Social Assimilation of Immigrants

Author

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  • de Palo, Domenico

    (University of Rome Tor Vergata)

  • Faini, Riccardo

    (University of Rome Tor Vergata)

  • Venturini, Alessandra

    (University of Turin)

Abstract

Policy makers in migrant-receiving countries must often strike a delicate balance between economic needs, that would dictate a substantial increase in the number of foreign workers, and political and electoral imperatives, that typically result in highly restrictive immigration policies. Promoting integration of migrants into the host country would go a long way in alleviating the trade off between economic and political considerations. While there is a large literature on the economic assimilation of immigrants, somewhat less attention has been devoted to other – and equally crucial – dimensions of migrants’ integration, namely the process of social assimilation. The aim of this paper is to take a close look at migrants’ social integration into the host country. We rely on the European Community Household panel (ECHP), which devotes a full module to the role and relevance of social relations for both migrants and natives. An innovative feature of this analysis is that it relies on migrants perceptions about their integration rather than – as is typically the case in most opinion surveys – on natives attitudes toward migrants. The main results of the paper can be summarized as follows. First, migrants – particularly from non EU origins - are at a disadvantage in the fields of social relations. Even after controlling for their individual characteristics, such as age, education, family size, and employment status, they tend to socialize less than natives. Second, migrants tend to converge, albeit quite slowly, to the standard of natives. This finding highlights the risks of short term migration, where migrants tend to be constantly marginalized. Third, education has a significant impact on the type of social activities that individuals undertake. More educated people tend to relate somewhat less with their close neighbourhood, but quite intensively with the broader community. The implication for policy makers concerned about the creation of ethnic enclaves is to promote education among immigrants’ community.

Suggested Citation

  • de Palo, Domenico & Faini, Riccardo & Venturini, Alessandra, 2006. "The Social Assimilation of Immigrants," IZA Discussion Papers 2439, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2439
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    Cited by:

    1. Anna-Elisabeth Thum, 2014. "Labor Market Integration of German Immigrants and Their Children: Does Personality Matter?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 723, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    2. Harry P. Bowen & Jennifer Pédussel Wu, 2013. "Immigrant Specificity and the Relationship between Trade and Immigration: Theory and Evidence," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 80(2), pages 366-384, October.
    3. Henseler Miriam & Plesch Joachim, 2009. "How Can Scholarship Institutions Foster the Return of Foreign Students?," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(4), pages 382-409, August.
    4. Anna Thum-Thysen, 2016. "Employment chances of immigrants and their children in Germany: does sense of personal control matter?," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-25, December.
    5. Frédéric Docquier & Joël Machado, 2016. "Global Competition for Attracting Talents and the World Economy," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(4), pages 530-542, April.
    6. Nga Hong Nguyen & Trang Thi Thu Nguyen, 2022. "Assuring Social Equity and Improving Income from an Assessment of Government’s Supports in a Pandemic and Migrant Workers’ Integration in Vietnam," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, April.
    7. Verdier, Thierry & Zenou, Yves, 2017. "The role of social networks in cultural assimilation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 15-39.
    8. Martin Guzi & Martin Kahanec & Lucia Mýtna Kureková, 2018. "How Immigration Grease Is Affected by Economic, Institutional, and Policy Contexts: Evidence from EU Labor Markets," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(2), pages 213-243, May.
    9. M. Hendriks & M. J. Burger, 2020. "Unsuccessful Subjective Well-Being Assimilation Among Immigrants: The Role of Faltering Perceptions of the Host Society," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(6), pages 1985-2006, August.
    10. Giovanni Facchini & Eleonora Patacchini & Max F. Steinhardt, 2015. "Migration, Friendship Ties, and Cultural Assimilation," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 619-649, April.
    11. Hakan Yilmazkuday, 2022. "Protectionism, Competitiveness and Inequality: Cross-Country Evidence from Soccer," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 171-192, April.
    12. Boakye, Said, 2012. "Theory of social transformation, political transition and economic growth," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 411-425.
    13. Gonnot, Jérôme, 2020. "The Evolution of First-Generation Immigrants' Political Preferences in Western Europe," TSE Working Papers 20-1145, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    14. Aleksynska, Mariya, 2007. "Civic Participation of Immigrants: Culture Transmission and Assimilation," MPRA Paper 4594, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Roberta Piergiovanni & Martin Carree & Enrico Santarelli, 2012. "Creative industries, new business formation, and regional economic growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 539-560, October.
    16. Cameron, Lisa A. & Erkal, Nisvan & Gangadharan, Lata & Zhang, Marina, 2012. "Cultural Integration: Experimental Evidence of Changes in Immigrants' Preferences," IZA Discussion Papers 6467, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Jérôme Gonnot & Federica lo Polito, 2023. "Cultural Transmission and Political Attitudes: Explaining Differences between Natives and Immigrants in Western Europe," Working Papers 2023-12, CEPII research center.
    18. Barbara Dietz, 2007. "Migration policy challenges at the new Eastern borders of the enlarged European Union : The Ukrainian case," Working Papers 267, Leibniz Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung (Institute for East and Southeast European Studies).
    19. Mariya Aleksynska & Yann Algan, 2010. "Economic and Cultural Assimilation and Integration of Immigration in Europe," Working Papers 2010-29, CEPII research center.
    20. Caroline Berchet & Nicolas Sirven, 2012. "Cross-Country Performance in Social Integration of Older Migrants. A European Perspective," Working Papers DT46, IRDES institut for research and information in health economics, revised Mar 2012.
    21. Luo, Chenghong & Mauleon, Ana & Vannetelbosch, Vincent, 2024. "Destabilizing segregation in friendship networks with farsighted agents," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 1-16.
    22. Chiara Mussida & Maria Laura Parisi, 2016. "The effect of economic crisis on regional income inequality in Italy," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises1614, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    23. Aleksynska, Mariya & Algan, Yann, 2010. "Assimilation and Integration of Immigrants in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 5185, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    24. Cameron, Lisa & Erkal, Nisvan & Gangadharan, Lata & Zhang, Marina, 2015. "Cultural integration: Experimental evidence of convergence in immigrants’ preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 38-58.
    25. Aleksynska, Mariya, 2011. "Civic participation of immigrants in Europe: Assimilation, origin, and destination country effects," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 566-585, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    social relationships; assimilation; immigration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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