Economic Integration of Intermarried Labour Migrants, Refugees and Family Migrants to Sweden: Premium or Selection?

40 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2014

See all articles by Pieter Bevelander

Pieter Bevelander

Malmo University - School of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Nahikari Irastorza

Malmö University

Abstract

We use Swedish register data to compare the employment and income of immigrants who intermarry natives versus those of immigrants who intramarry other immigrants in Sweden. We conduct the same analyses on three subsamples: labour migrants, refugees and family migrants. We find that intermarried immigrants outperformed intramarried ones in employment rates and salaries before and after marriage, in 1997 and 2007 respectively, and the same in true for each of the three subsamples analyzed. There is a statistically significant difference in income growth between intermarried and intramarried immigrants within that time period, but this difference is only significant for the subsample of family migrants. Finally, the upward mobility in employment status between 1997 and 2007 is higher for intermarried immigrants than for intramarried ones, with this being also the case for each of the three groups of labour migrants, refugees and family migrants. Our findings provide evidence to support both the selection hypothesis and the intermarriage premium hypothesis for the whole group of immigrants to Sweden. They also fully support the selection hypothesis for labour and family migrants but only partially for refugees; whereas they fully confirm the intermarriage premium hypothesis for family migrants but only partially for refugees and labour migrants.

Keywords: immigrants, binational couples, economic integration, intermarriage premium, Sweden

JEL Classification: J1, J12

Suggested Citation

Bevelander, Pieter and Bevelander, Pieter and Irastorza, Nahikari, Economic Integration of Intermarried Labour Migrants, Refugees and Family Migrants to Sweden: Premium or Selection?. IZA Discussion Paper No. 8065, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2420710 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2420710

Pieter Bevelander (Contact Author)

Malmo University - School of International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) ( email )

SE-205 06 Malmo
Sweden

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Nahikari Irastorza

Malmö University

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