A1249
Title: Labor market integration of refugee immigrants
Authors: Bernt Bratsberg - Frisch Center, University of Oslo (Norway) [presenting]
Abstract: Labor market integration of refugees is examined compared to that of other immigrant groups. The study draws on Norwegian longitudinal administrative data covering labor earnings and social insurance claims over a 25-year period and presents a comprehensive picture of immigrant-native employment and social insurance differentials by admission class and by years since migration. For refugees and family immigrants from low-income source countries, we uncover encouraging signs of labor market integration during an initial period upon admission, but after just 5-10 years, the integration process goes into reverse with widening immigrant-native employment differentials and rising rates of immigrant social insurance dependency. Yet, the analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity within admission class and points to an important role of host-country schooling for successful immigrant labor market integration.
