Showing papers in "International Migration Review in 2018"
TL;DR: The authors showed that, since 1945, migration policies have overall become less restrictive, and this long-term trend is robust across most of the 45 countries included in the DEMIG POLICY database.
Abstract: This paper demonstrates that, since 1945, migration policies have overall become less restrictive. Challenging common assumptions, this long-term trend is robust across most of the 45 countries included in the DEMIG POLICY database. While the period after 1989 is characterized by a slowing down of the rapid post-WWII liberalization of migration policies, liberal policy changes have continued to outnumber restrictive policy changes until today. Yet policy developments differ across policy types and migrant categories: Entry and integration policies have become less restrictive, while border control and exit policies have become more restrictive. Also, while policies towards irregular migrants and family migrants have been tightened in recent years, less restrictive changes have dominated policies targeting high- and low-skilled workers, students, and refugees. The essence of modern migration policies is thus not their growing restriction, but their focus on migrant selection.
129 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an indirect estimation method was used to derive country to country migration flows from changes in global bilateral stock data over five and 10-year periods between 1960 and 2010.
Abstract: An indirect estimation method is used to derive country to country migration flows from changes in global bilateral stock data. Estimates are obtained over five- and 10-year periods between 1960 an...
88 citations
TL;DR: A taxonomy of the ways states partner with migration industries based on the nature of their relationship (formal or informal) and the type of actor involved (for-profit or non-profit) is presented in this article.
Abstract: Studies of migration industries have demonstrated the critical role that border-spanning businesses play in international mobility. To date, most research has focused on meso-level entrepreneurial initiatives that operate in a legal gray area under a state that provides an environment for their growth or decline. Extending this work, the present article advances a taxonomy of the ways states partner with migration industries based on the nature of their relationship (formal or informal) and the type of actor involved (for-profit or non-profit). The analysis focuses on low-paid temporary migrant work programs — schemes that require substantial state involvement to function — and examines cases from the East Asian democracies with strong economies that have become net importers of migrants: Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. The conclusion, incorporating cases beyond Asia, explicates the properties and limits of each arrangement based on the degree of formality and importance of profit.
40 citations
TL;DR: This paper developed a typology of Polish migrants under "free movement" following the 2004 expansion of the European Union, and characterized these diverse migrant types in terms of their premigration characteristics and link them to varied early social and economic integration outcomes.
Abstract: Applying latent class analysis to a unique data source of 3,500 Polish migrants in Western Europe, we develop a new typology of Polish migrants under “free movement” following the 2004 expansion of the European Union. We characterize these diverse migrant types in terms of their premigration characteristics and link them to varied early social and economic integration outcomes. We show that alongside traditional circular and temporary labor migration, European Union expansion has given rise to new migrant types who are driven by experiential concerns, resulting in a more complex relationship between their economic and social integration in destination countries.
33 citations
TL;DR: The liberal paradox thesis states that courts are driven by logics that hamper restrict restrict... as mentioned in this paper, which is also known as the "legal paradox" thesis. But it does not hold for immigration policies.
Abstract: Courts are influential actors during the implementation of immigration policies in liberal democracies. The “liberal paradox” thesis stipulates that courts are driven by logics that hamper restrict...
28 citations
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TL;DR: The authors focus on the human costs of undocumented migration by estimating the number, causes and location of undocumented migrants in the United States, and focus attention on these costs by estimating their number and causes.
Abstract: Debates about United States border control policies have generally ignored the human costs of undocumented migration. We focus attention on these costs by estimating the number, causes and location...
27 citations
TL;DR: This paper explore how legal status impacts high school completion, post-secondary enrollment, and labor market expectations among Latino young adults in California, finding evidence of undocumented disadvantage and citizenship advantage in completion and enrollment, but no differences in expectations.
Abstract: Recent research theorizes a widening sociopolitical gap between undocumented and documented immigrants — but also between citizens and noncitizens generally — with implications for mobility. How might legal inequality influence educational outcomes? Largely due to data constraints, much existing research is unable to distinguish between legal statuses. Yet, legal status may help explain inconsistent findings of “immigrant advantage” among Latinos. Using survey data from Latino young adults in California, I explore how legal status impacts high school completion, post‐secondary enrollment, and labor market expectations. I find evidence of undocumented disadvantage and citizenship advantage in completion and enrollment, but no differences in expectations. Findings suggest that scholars should pay closer attention to the role of legal background in shaping mobility.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, social scientists focus an analytical lens on the new third generation to see what their experiences reveal about post-1965 assimilation, and they make a first step towards this goal.
Abstract: Now is the time for social scientists to focus an analytical lens on the new third generation to see what their experiences reveal about post‐1965 assimilation. This paper is a first step. We compa...
26 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that an "invisibility bargain" constrains migrants' identities and political participation, demanding their economic contributions plus political and social invisibility in exchange for tolerance of their presence in the host country.
Abstract: This article argues that an “invisibility bargain” constrains migrants’ identities and political participation, demanding their economic contributions plus political and social invisibility in exchange for tolerance of their presence in the host country. In response, migrants negotiate their visible identity differences, minimize social distance from the host population, and build informal coalitions with non-state brokers to avoid citizen backlash against overt political activism. Examining Colombian forced migrants in Ecuador, the article challenges state-centric governance approaches, underscoring migrant agency in negotiating identity to influence social hierarchies, coexistence, and human security. Its findings advance the broader understanding of migration in the Global South.
26 citations
TL;DR: The authors evaluate multiple approaches to measuring receiving country contextual effects and measuring their impact on the educational attainment of the children of immigrants, and demonstrate that their proposed measures better predict second-generation educational attainment than prevailing approaches.
Abstract: This paper seeks to return scholarly attention to a core intellectual divide between segmented and conventional (or neo‐)assimilation approaches, doing so through a theoretical and empirical reconsideration of contextual effects on second‐generation outcomes. We evaluate multiple approaches to measuring receiving country contextual effects and measuring their impact on the educational attainment of the children of immigrants. We demonstrate that our proposed measures better predict second‐generation educational attainment than prevailing approaches, enabling a multilevel modeling strategy that accounts for the structure of immigrant families nested within different receiving contexts.
25 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify employment institutions in Japan that affect skilled foreign workers and demonstrate that practices ostensibly introduced to benefit these workers are associated with lower pay, after adjusting for human capital and firm characteristics.
Abstract: Scholars argue that institutional arrangements shape migrants' economic integration trajectories, and yet few studies empirically substantiate this. This study identifies employment institutions in Japan that affect skilled foreign workers. We demonstrate that practices ostensibly introduced to benefit these workers are associated with lower pay, after adjusting for human capital and firm characteristics. High levels of gender inequality also severely disadvantage female skilled migrants. These findings demonstrate that in the Japanese case, detrimental employment institutions often cancel out skilled foreign workers' returns to human capital. The results may explain why Japan has failed to attract and retain more skilled migrants.
TL;DR: The authors examined the impact of immigration enforcement programs and various social factors on repeat migration intentions, and found that immigrants with strong personal ties to the United States have higher relative odds of intending to cross the border again, even when controlling modes of removal from the U.S.
Abstract: Drawing on postdeportation surveys (N = 1,109) with Mexican migrants, we examine the impact of immigration enforcement programs and various social factors on repeat migration intentions. Our multivariate analyses suggest immigrants with strong personal ties to the United States have higher relative odds of intending to cross the border again, even when controlling modes of removal from the United States. Our findings highlight the inevitable failure of immigration policy and enforcement programs when placed against the powerful pull of family and home. These findings shed greater insight on the complex nature of unauthorized migration in an era of increased securitization and deportation.
TL;DR: This paper studied the interplay between host countries' characteristics and self-selection patterns in relation to refugees' economic assimilation using a natural experiment in which immigrants from one region migrated to three destinations under similar circumstances.
Abstract: We study the interplay between host countries’ characteristics and self-selection patterns in relation to refugees’ economic assimilation using a natural experiment in which immigrants from one region migrated to three destinations under similar circumstances. We focus on emigrants fleeing from Argentina and Chile during the military regimes there to the United States, Sweden, and Israel. We find that those refugees show patterns of selection and assimilation similar to those of economic immigrants. Immigrants to the United States and Israel exhibit better selection patterns and consequently faster assimilation than immigrants to Sweden even considering the positive effect of the Swedish market structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed an analytical framework to examine the motives behind migrants' remitting behavior and the mechanisms for realizing their remitting objectives based on a comparative study of two emigrant groups from China and found that the sending of remittances for collective consumption serves as a unique mechanism for social status compensation.
Abstract: This paper focuses on a special type of remittances — monetary remittances sent by international migrants to their hometowns to build symbolic structures and cultural facilities for collective consumption. We develop an analytical framework to examine the motives behind migrants’ remitting behavior and the mechanisms for realizing their remitting objectives based on a comparative study of two emigrant groups from China. We find that the sending of remittances for collective consumption serves as a unique mechanism for social status compensation. Such behavior is not only affected by migrants’ socioeconomic circumstances or government policies, but also by intersecting contextual and institutional factors at multiple levels transnationally.
TL;DR: The authors explore factors correlated with immigrant homeownership before and after the Great Recession and focus solely on immigrants because of recent evidence that suggests homeownership is correlated with immigrants' economic security and well-being.
Abstract: In this paper, we explore factors correlated with immigrant homeownership before and after the Great Recession. We focus solely on immigrants because of recent evidence that suggests homeownership ...
TL;DR: The authors studied the material determinants of anti-immigrant sentiment in Latin America and found that fears of labor-market competition and tax burdens are weak predictors of antiimmigrant sentiment. But they also found that tax burdens were strong and robust predictors for anti-immigration sentiment.
Abstract: In this article, we study the material determinants of anti-immigrant sentiment in Latin America. Based on new data on immigration to non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, we use the workhorse distributive theories that anticipate who wins and who loses from immigration and test their predictive capacity in labor-abundant countries. We exploit the variation in regional immigration rates, in the skill composition of natives versus migrants, and in the relative generosity of Latin American welfare states. We find that fears of labor-market competition are weak predictors of anti-immigrant sentiment. In contrast, fears of greater tax burdens are strong and robust predictors of anti-immigrant sentiment. We conclude that studying Latin American public opinion opens new avenues for theorizing about anti-immigrant sentiment in developing countries.
TL;DR: The authors examined the earnings advantage of economic immigrants who initially arrived as temporary foreign workers (TFWs) over immigrants who were directly selected from abroad using the Long-Term Incentive Program (LIP).
Abstract: This study examines the earnings advantage of economic immigrants who initially arrived as temporary foreign workers (TFWs) over immigrants who were directly selected from abroad. Using the Longitu...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that taking migration disruptions seriously requires (1) decentering the language and logic of crisis and (2) considering what migration disruptions reveal about ordinary times.
Abstract: In 2014, Thailand experienced the mass exodus of 220,000 Cambodian migrant workers, an event precipitated by a military coup and rumors of an impending migrant crackdown. This movement was reportedly the largest in South‐East Asia since the 1970s. Yet while the mass returns were outwardly articulated as a “crisis” moment, migrants largely understood the exodus as a more extreme version of the everyday. The most significant features of the exodus—financial loss, indebtedness, involuntary immobility, and fear of violence and deportation—have been and continue to be regular features of the Cambodian–Thai migration system. In light of these findings, I suggest that taking migration disruptions seriously requires (1) decentering the language and logic of “crisis” and (2) considering what migration disruptions reveal about ordinary times.
TL;DR: The relative permeability of ethno-racial boundaries between natives and immigrants who arrived at different stages of their lifecycle are documented to illustrate the importance of the lifecycle timing of migration for marital sorting behavior and immigrant integration.
Abstract: We document the relative permeability of ethno‐racial boundaries between natives and immigrants who arrived at different stages of their lifecycle. The odds of crossing boundaries involving White spouses are highest among child migrants and lowest among adolescent migrants. By contrast, immigrants who arrive at older ages have lower odds of crossing the Black–Hispanic boundary in marriage. These findings illustrate the importance of the lifecycle timing of migration for marital sorting behavior and immigrant integration.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the French Trajectories and origins survey to describe patterns and trends of cross-border ties across immigrant generations and measured transnational activities through a...
Abstract: In this article, I use the French Trajectories and Origins survey to describe patterns and trends of cross-border ties across immigrant generations. Transnational activities are measured through a ...
TL;DR: This paper analyzed the job mobility of migrants and natives and distinguish among voluntary, involuntary, and internal job changes, finding evidence for differences in transition patterns and using several fixed-effects regressions were able to explain a substantial part of the gap in hourly wages.
Abstract: In industrialized countries, wages between migrants and natives usually differ. Previous studies that mostly focused on human capital theory and cross-sectional wage differences failed to fully explain the wage gap. We offer a new explanation and assume that differences in the employment trajectories of migrants and natives contribute to diverging wages after labor market entrance. Utilizing longitudinal data for Germany, we analyze the job mobility of migrants and natives and distinguish among voluntary, involuntary, and internal job changes. Indeed, we find evidence for differences in transition patterns and — using several fixed-effects regressions — are able to explain a substantial part of the gap in hourly wages. The results suggest that the higher number of involuntary changes among migrants increases the wage gap. In contrast, support for more voluntary and internal job changes among migrants should help to counteract diverging earnings trajectories.
TL;DR: It was showed that some groups, such as Eastern European immigrants, have higher probabilities of health deterioration in terms of SRH, and those immigrants who arrived in the host country during adulthood experienced relatively fast health decline.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the differences between natives and immigrants in regard to transition probabilities among health states in self-rated health (SRH), depression, and activities of daily living for middle-aged and older adults in Europe. The Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement allows us to investigate how successfully the immigrants have aged from 2004 to 2011 compared to natives, according to country of origin and age at migration. We showed that some groups, such as Eastern European immigrants, have higher probabilities of health deterioration in terms of SRH. Moreover, those immigrants who arrived in the host country during adulthood experienced relatively fast health decline.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined how the difference in migrants' initial methods of entry affects the level of their life satisfaction and revealed the importance of current social networks and their role in moderating the effect of the initial method of entry after a prolonged period of residence.
Abstract: This study examines the recent phenomenon of “cross-border marriage” in South Korea: foreign brides migrating into Korea to get married to Korean bachelors. Using data from the National Survey of Multicultural Families 2009, one of the biggest data sets on marriage migrants, we analyze how the difference in migrants’ initial methods of entry affects the level of their life satisfaction. The findings show greater life satisfaction for those who used personal social networks, when compared with those who used commercial brokers as a method of entry. The analyses also reveal the importance of current social networks and their role in moderating the effect of the initial methods of entry after a prolonged period of residence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of domestic and international remittances on child labor and schooling were investigated using data from the 1992-1993 and 1997-1998 Vietnam Living Standards Surveys.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the effects of domestic and international remittances on child labor and schooling. Using data from the 1992–1993 and 1997–1998 Vietnam Living Standards Surveys, we investigate school attendance and child labor in remittance recipient and non-recipient households. The results of our binomial logit and two-sided censored regression panel analysis indicate that remittances increase schooling and reduce child labor. Although international remittances are found to have a stronger beneficial impact than domestic remittances in the cross-section, the panel analysis, taking account of fixed effects, reverses this result, showing that the only significant impact stems from domestic remittances.
TL;DR: Using matched data from the Current Population Survey from 2005 to 2011 (n = 5,507), this article used multinomial and binary logistic regression models to examine employment transitions related to the Great...
Abstract: Using matched data from the Current Population Survey from 2005 to 2011 (n = 5,507), we use multinomial and binary logistic regression models to examine employment transitions related to the Great ...
TL;DR: In this article, the concept of spiritual citizenship is used to examine how some religiously active migrants employ religion to see themselves as less deportable, and to try to become less "discriminative".
Abstract: This article advances the concept of spiritual citizenship to examine how some religiously active migrants employ religion to see themselves as, and to try to become, less deportable. Drawing from ...
TL;DR: This article examined the effects of 9/11 on the self-employment outcomes of Arab and Muslim immigrants using CPS Data 2000-2005 and a difference-in-differences approach, analyzing the changes in th...
Abstract: This paper examines the effects of 9/11 on the self-employment outcomes of Arab and Muslim immigrants. Using CPS Data 2000–2005 and a difference-in-differences approach, I analyze the changes in th...
TL;DR: This paper analyzed path models of a nationally representative sample of Mexican adolescents in 2008 to explore how migration variables interact with school retention to shape their migration plans, effort in school, and achievement on a standardized measure of Spanish literacy.
Abstract: We analyze path models of a nationally representative sample of Mexican adolescents in 2008 to explore how migration variables interact with school retention to shape their migration plans, effort in school, and achievement on a standardized measure of Spanish literacy. Among other findings, we discover that more immediate plans are associated with lower performance for students considering migration and that this relationship varies by family socioeconomic status. We also find that parent migration exposure negatively affects achievement for some groups. We interpret findings in terms of structural inequalities in Mexico and conclude with recommendations to enrich academic learning opportunities for children and youth within migrant families and communities.