Now and Forever? Initial and Subsequent Location Choices of Immigrants

Aslund, Olof

doi:10.2139/ssrn.286046

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Now and Forever? Initial and Subsequent Location Choices of Immigrants

IFAU - Office of Labour Market Policy Evaluation, Working Paper No. 2001:11

40 Pages Posted: 4 Oct 2001

See all articles by Olof Aslund

Olof Aslund

IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: September 7, 2001

Abstract

This paper exploits a natural experiment to study the influence of regional factors on initial and subsequent location choices among immigrants. The results suggest that immigrants to Sweden are attracted to regions with high representation from the individual's birth country and large overall immigrant populations. Labor market opportunities affect location decisions, but people also tend to choose localities with many welfare recipients. The impact of most regional factors does not change over time. Thus, there is little evidence that information improves or that preferences differ between initial and subsequent stages.

Keywords: Immigration, location choice, secondary migration

JEL Classification: J15, J18, J61, R23

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Aslund, Olof, Now and Forever? Initial and Subsequent Location Choices of Immigrants (September 7, 2001). IFAU - Office of Labour Market Policy Evaluation, Working Paper No. 2001:11, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=286046 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.286046