Immigration, Integration and the Labour Market: Evidence from Turkish Immigrants in Germany and the Netherlands

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IZA Seminar

Place: Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 9, 53113 Bonn

Date: 06.06.2006, 12:15 - 13:30

   

Presentation by 

Rob Euwals (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis)
   

Abstract:

On the basis of three micro datasets, the German Socio-Economic Panel 2002, the Dutch Social Position and Use of Provision Survey 2002 and the Dutch Labour Force Survey 2002, we investigate the labour market position of first and second generation Turkish immigrants in Germany and the Netherlands. We compare employment rates, temporary employment rates and ISEI job classification indices between Turkish immigrants and natives in both countries. We use the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method. Our major results yield: (1) in both countries the employment rate of Turkish immigrants is lower than for natives, and the employment gap is particularly large for lowly educated Turkish men in the Netherlands, (2) the employment gap in Germany is largely explained by differences in educational attainment, while in the Netherlands educational attainment matters as well but to a lesser extent, (3) in particular young Turks are much more likely to be employed on a temporary basis than their native counterparts, and this even holds for young Turks which are well integrated in the host country (i.e. good speaking fluency) , and (4) Turkish workers have lower ISEI job classification scores than their native counterparts, and this is particularly true for the highly educated Turks. We relate our results to immigration and integration policies in both countries. The results hint at the importance of educational policy in both countries, and at less successful integration policies and deactivating welfare state arrangements for lowly educated Turkish men in the Netherlands. Furthermore, the less favourable ISEI job classification score of the highly educated employed Turks in both countries hints at the importance of network effects in employment and discrimination.

   
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