My Google Scholar, Ideas-Repec and ResearchGate profiles 

WORKING PAPERS

• Social Networks and (Political) Assimilation in the Age of Mass Migration, with Costanza Biavaschi and Yves Zenou, CEPR Discussion Paper n. 16182, 2021
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This paper investigates the causal pathways through which ethnic social networks influence individual naturalization. Using the complete-count Census of 1930, we digitize information on the exact residence of newly arrived immigrants in New York City. This allows us to define networks with a granularity detail that was not used before for historical data – the Census block – and therefore to overcome issues of spatial sorting. By matching individual observations with the complete-count Census of 1940, we estimate the impact that the exogenous fraction of naturalized co-ethnics in the network observed in 1930 has on the probability of immigrants to acquire citizenship a decade later. Our results indicate that the concentration of naturalized co-ethnics in the network positively affects individual naturalization and that this relationship operates through one main channel: information dissemination. Indeed, immigrants who live among naturalized co-ethnics are more likely to naturalize because they have greater access to critical information about the benefits and procedures of naturalizatio.
• Kicking You When You're Already Down: The Multipronged Impact of Austerity on Crime, with Brendon McConnell, GLO Discussion Paper n. 746, 2021
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Kicking You When You're Already Down: The Multipronged Impact of Austerity on Crime, with Brendon McConnell
The UK Welfare Reform Act 2012 imposed a series of welfare cuts, which disproportionately impacted ex-ante poorer areas. In this paper, we consider the impact of these austerity measures on two different but complementary elements of crime -- the crime rate and the less-studied concentration of crime -- over the period 2011-2015 in England and Wales, and document four new facts. First, areas more exposed to the welfare reforms experience increased levels of crime, an effect driven by a rise in violent crime. Second, both violent and property crime become more concentrated within an area due to the welfare reforms. Third, it is ex-ante more deprived neighborhoods that bear the brunt of the crime increases over this period. Fourth, we find no evidence that the welfare reforms increased recidivism, suggesting that the changes in crime we find are likely driven by new criminals. Combining these results, we document unambiguous evidence of a negative spillover of the welfare reforms at the heart of the UK government's austerity program on social welfare, which reinforced the direct inequality-worsening effect of this program. More deprived districts are more exposed to the welfare reforms, and it is these districts that then experience the further negative consequences of the reforms via increased crime. Our findings underscore the importance of considering both multiple dimensions of crime as well as considering different levels of spatial aggregation of crime data. Given that it is violent crime that responds to the (economically-based) welfare cuts, our work also highlights the need to develop better economic models of non-rational crime.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

• When Reality Bites: Local Deaths and Vaccine Take-Up, with Michael Vlassopoulos and Yves Zenou, , European Economic Review 156, 104463, 2023
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In this study, we investigate whether COVID-19 deaths that occurred before vaccination rollouts impact subsequent vaccination take-up. We use data on local vaccination rates and COVID-19-related deaths from England measured at high geographic granularity. We find that vaccination take-up as of November 2021 is positively associated with pre-vaccine COVID-19- related deaths, controlling for demographic, economic, and health-related characteristics of the localities, while including geographic fixed effects. In addition, the share of ethnic minorities in a locality is negatively associated with vaccination rates, and localities with a larger share of ethnic minorities increase their vaccination rates if they are exposed to more COVID-related-deaths. Further evidence on vaccination intention at the individual level from a representative sample corroborates these patterns. Overall, our evidence suggests that social proximity to victims of the disease triggers a desire to take protective measures against it.
• The Chips Are Down: The Influence of Family on Children's Trust Formation, with Enrico Rettore and Sara Tonini, Journal of Population Economics 36, 211–233, 2023
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Understanding the formation of trust is a key issue, considering its impact on economic performance. Attempts to measure the intergenerational transmission's strength relied so far on the cross-sectional regression of children's trust on the contemporaneous trust of parents. In this paper we take an original approach on the analysis of the transmission process by introducing the distinction between permanent trust (the long-lasting belief on whether one trusts people) and transient trust (capturing, e.g., random errors in the reported trust), and argue that it is only permanent trust that is relevant for the transmission process. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we show that 2/3 of the observed variability of children's trust is due to the transient component. The remaining variability due to the permanent component is only moderately determined by the permanent trust of the parents, with mothers being much more relevant than fathers. Focusing on the subsample of families with more than one child, we show that most of the variability of children's permanent trust is due to unobservable family-specific features of the environment shared by siblings. We conclude that while the family environment in which children grew up determines most of their permanent trust, the direct role of intergenerational transmission is exiguous.
• Terror Headlines and Voting, with Armine Ghazaryan and Jackline Wahba, Economics Letters, 216, 110562, 2022
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By combining data on terror news and individual political preferences, this paper finds that headlines about ISIS and terrorism in the context of the Syrian crisis increased the support for right-wing populism in England for the period 2013 to 2019.
• Peers, Gender, and Long-Term Depression, with Michael Vlassopoulos and Yves Zenou, European Economic Review, 144, 104084, 2022
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Peers, Gender, and Long-Term Depression
This study investigates whether exposure to peer depression in adolescence affects own depression in adulthood. We find a significant long-term depression peer effect for females but not for males in a sample of U.S. adolescents who are followed into adulthood. An increase of one standard deviation of the share of own-gender peers (schoolmates) who are depressed increases the probability of depression in adulthood by 2.6 percentage points for females (or 11.5% of mean depression). We also find that the peer effect is already present in the short term when girls are still in school and provide suggestive evidence for why it persists over time. In particular, we show that peer depression negatively affects the probability of college attendance and the likelihood of working, and leads to a reduction in income of adult females. Further analysis reveals that individuals from families with a lower socioeconomic background are more susceptible to peer influence, thereby suggesting that family can function as a buffer.
• The Impact of Brexit on International Students' Return Intentions, with Jane Falkingham, Jackline Wahba and Chuhong Wang, The Manchester School, 89(2), 139–171, 2021
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The Impact of Brexit on International Students' Return Intentions
This paper is the first attempt to study the causal impact of "Brexit", namely the UK's departure from the European Union (EU), on the post-graduation mobility decisions of EU students in the UK. We exploit the British government's formal withdrawal notification under Article 50 as a natural experiment and employ a difference-in-differences design. Using data from a new survey of graduating international students, we find that EU graduating students are significantly more likely than non-EU graduating students to plan on leaving the UK upon graduation immediately after the announcement. Interestingly, results are especially driven by students from the new EU countries and students from the EU14 countries who are undecided of their migration plans. We further show that the deterrent effects are heterogeneous and depend on age and subject among others. These findings carry important implications for post-Brexit UK and for other European countries with emerging calls for their own referendums.
• When the Market Drives you Crazy: Stock Market Returns and Fatal Car Accidents, with Mirco Tonin and Michael Vlassopoulos, Journal of Health Economics, 70, 102245, 2020
  
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When the Market Drives you Crazy: Stock Market Returns and Fatal Car Accidents
This paper provides evidence that daily fluctuations in the stock market have important -- and hitherto neglected -- spillover effects on fatal car accidents. Using the universe of fatal car accidents in the United States from 1990 to 2015, we find that a one standard deviation reduction in daily stock market returns is associated with a 0.6% increase in fatal car accidents that happen after the stock market opening. A battery of falsification tests support a causal interpretation of this finding. Our results are consistent with immediate emotions stirred by a negative stock market performance influencing the number of fatal accidents, in particular among inexperienced investors.
• Racial Discrimination in Local Public Services: A Field Experiment in the US, with Mirco Tonin and Michael Vlassopoulos, Journal of the European Economic Association  17(1), 165–204, 2019  
  
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Racial Discrimination in Local Public Services: A Field Experiment in the US
We examine whether racial discrimination exists in access to public services in the U.S.. We carry out an email correspondence study in which we pose simple queries to more than 19,000 local public service providers. We find that emails from putatively black senders are almost 4 percentage points less likely to receive an answer compared to emails signed with a white- sounding name. Moreover, responses to queries coming from black names are less likely to have a cordial tone. Further tests suggest that the differential in the likelihood of answering is due to animus towards blacks rather than inferring socioeconomic status from race. Finally, we show that attitudes towards the government among blacks are more negative in states with higher discrimination.
• Strong versus Weak Ties in Migration, with Jackline Wahba and Yves Zenou, European Economic Review, 104, 111–137, 2018
  
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Strong versus Weak Ties in Migration
This paper studies the role of strong versus weak ties in the rural-to-urban migration decision in China. We first develop a network model that puts forward the different roles of weak and strong ties in helping workers to migrate to the city. We then use a unique longitudinal data that allows us to test our model by focusing on first-time migration. Strong ties are measured by the closest family contact, while weak ties are determined by the fraction of migrants from the village in which the individual resides. We address the endogeneity of the network formation in the migration decision. Our results indicate that both weak and strong ties matter in the migration decision process, although the impact of weak ties is higher than that of strong ties. We also show that one underestimates the effect of social networks on migration by not taking into account the strong ties in the mobility process. We finally find that weak and strong ties act as complements in the migration decision, which indicates that the interactive effect between weak and strong ties is particularly strong above a certain threshold of the size of weak ties.
• The Economic Payoff of Name Americanization, with Costanza Biavaschi and Zahra Siddique, Journal of Labor Economics, 35(4), 1089–1116, 2017
  
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The Economic Payoff of Name Americanization
We provide the first evidence of the magnitude and consequences of the Americanization of migrants' names in the early twentieth century. We construct a longitudinal data set of naturalization records, tracking migrants and their naming choices over time. We consistently find that migrants who Americanized their names experienced larger occupational upgrading than those who did not. Name Americanization embodies an intention to assimilate among low-skilled migrants and reveals the existence of preferences for American names within the labor market. We conclude that the trade-off between individual identity and labor market success was present then as it is today.
• Ethnic Diversity and Well-Being, with Alpaslan Akay, Amelie F Constant and Martin Guzi, Journal of Population Economics, 30, 265–306, 2017
  
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Ethnic Diversity and Well-Being
This paper investigates how ethnic diversity, measured by immigrants' nationalities, influences the well-being of the host country. Using panel data from Germany from 1998 to 2012, we find a positive effect of ethnic diversity on the well-being of German natives. Our finding is robust to alternative definitions of ethnic diversity and to the non-random selection of natives and immigrants into regions. The positive effect of ethnic diversity is stronger for immigrant groups that are culturally and economically closer to Germany. Consistent with this result, we document the existence of two mechanisms explaining the influence of ethnic diversity on well-being: productivity—as captured by immigrants' skills and assimilation—and social capital—particularly in relation to the creation of a multicultural environment.

• Remittances and Relative Concerns in Rural China, with Alpaslan Akay, Olivier Bargain, Juan D Robalino and Klaus F Zimmermann, China Economic Review, 37, 191–207, 2016
  
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Remittances and Relative Concerns in Rural China
The paper investigates the impact of remittances on the relative concerns of households in rural China. Using the Rural to Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) dataset we estimate a series of subjective well-being functions to simultaneously explore relative concerns with respect to income and remittances. Our results show that although rural households experience substantial welfare loss due to income comparisons, they gain well-being by comparing their remittances with those received by their reference group. In other words, we find evidence of a "status effect" with respect to income and of a "signal effect" of similar magnitude with respect to remittances. This finding is robust to various specifications, alternative reference group definitions, controls for the endogeneity of remittances and selective migration, as well as the use of migrants' net contribution to household income.

• Sibling Influence on the Human Capital of the Left Behind, with Costanza Biavaschi and Klaus F Zimmermann, Journal of Human Capital, 9(4), 2015
  
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Sibling Influence on the Human Capital of the Left Behind
While a growing literature has analyzed the effects of parental migration on the educational outcomes of children left behind, this study is the first to highlight the importance of sibling interactions in such a context. Using panel data from the RUMiC Survey, we find that sibling influence on school performance is stronger among left-behind children. Hence, parental migration seems to trigger changes in familial roles and sibling effects among children. However, it is primarily older sisters who exhibit a positive influence on their younger siblings. We corroborate our results by performing a series of tests to mitigate endogeneity issues.

• The Impact of Immigration on the Well-Being of Natives, with Alpaslan Akay and Amelie F Constant, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 103, 72–92, 2014
  
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The Impact of Immigration on the Well-Being of Natives
Combining data from the German Socio-Economic Panel for 1998–2009 with local labor market information, this is the first paper to investigate how the spatial concentration of immigrants affects the life satisfaction of the native Germans. Our results show a positive and robust effect of immigration on natives' well-being, which is not driven by local labor market characteristics. Immigration has only a weak impact on the subjective well-being of immigrant groups, meanwhile. We also examine potential threats to causality and conclude that our findings are not driven by selectivity and reverse causality. Specifically, natives are not crowded out by immigrants and the sorting of immigrants to regions with higher native happiness is negligible. We further find that the positive effect of immigration on natives' life satisfaction is a function of the assimilation of immigrants in the region. Immigration's well-being effect is higher in regions with intermediate assimilation levels and is essentially zero in regions with no or complete assimilation.

• The RUMiC Longitudinal Survey: Fostering Research on Labor Markets in China, with Mehtap Akgüc and Klaus F Zimmermann, IZA Journal of Labor & Development, 3:5, 2014
  
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The RUMiC Longitudinal Survey: Fostering Research on Labor Markets in China
This paper describes the Longitudinal Survey on Rural Urban Migration in China (RUMiC), a unique data source in terms of spatial coverage and panel dimension for research on labor markets in China. The survey is a collaboration project between the Australian National University, Beijing Normal University and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), which makes data publicly available to the scientific community by producing Scientific Use Files. The paper illustrates the structure, sampling frame and tracking method of the survey, and provides an overview of the topics covered by the dataset, and a review of the existing studies based on RUMiC data.

• Is the Minimum Wage a Pull Factor for Immigrants?, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 67(3), 649-674, 2014
  
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Is the Minimum Wage a Pull Factor for Immigrants?
In this article, the author studies the effects of the minimum wage on immigration. He develops an analytical framework in which immigration is a function of the expected wage in the region of destination. In the analysis, the author exploits the state variation in expected wages stemming from the changes in the U.S. federal minimum wage during 1996–1997 and 2007–2009. The author addresses endogeneity between immigration and the expected wage using an instrumental variable approach. His results provide consistent evidence that the policy induced a sizeable flow of low-skilled immigrants to the United States in both periods. This pull is attributable to the minimum wage increasing immigrants' wages without harming their potential employment outcomes. The author corroborates these findings by showing that the policy did not have any impact on the flow of high-skilled immigrants. The effect on low-skilled immigration is also found when the interstate mobility of immigrants is considered. Finally, changes in the minimum wage only attracted legal immigrants, while undocumented immigrants were not affected.

• Remittances and Well-Being among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China, with Alpaslan Akay, Juan D Robalino and Klaus F Zimmermann, Review of Economics of the Household, 12(3), 517–546, 2014
  
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Remittances and Well-Being among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China
The main objective of this paper is to propose a systematic approach to empirically analyse the relationship between sending remittances and the utility of migrants, as proxied by their subjective well-being (SWB). Using data from a new survey on China, we estimate models in which a SWB measure is regressed on the level of remittances, finding a sizeable positive correlation. The estimates vary with the socio-economic characteristics of migrants, migration experience and the diversity of family arrangements. As a complementary objective, we use SWB measures to elicit the motivations behind remittances, finding evidence that both altruistic and contractual motivations are at work among rural-to-urban migrants in China.

• Entrepreneurship of the Left-Behind, with Jackline Wahba and Klaus F Zimmermann, Research in Labor Economics, 37, 65–92, 2013
  
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Entrepreneurship of the Left-Behind
While there is evidence that return migration promotes entrepreneurship and self-employment of those who migrated, previous studies have not focused on whether migration provides the same benefits to individuals who did not migrate. Using a unique dataset that provides information on both current and return migrants in rural China (RUMiC), we investigate the impact of migration on entrepreneurship among individuals with no migration experience. We explore the self-employment choices of individuals who live in households with return migrants and individuals who live in households that have migrants currently in the city, comparing them with individuals living in non-migrant households. Our methodology allows us to control for the potential endogeneity between the migration and self-employment decisions. The results show that return migration promotes self-employment among household members who have not migrated. However, left-behind individuals are less likely to be self-employed when compared with those living in non-migrant households.

• With a Lot of Help from my Friends: Social Networks and Immigrants in the UK, with Christian Schluter and Jackline Wahba, Population, Place and Space, 19(6) 657–670, 2013
  
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With a Lot of Help from my Friends: Social Networks and Immigrants in the UK
This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the role of social networks in the labour market, comparing immigrant and native men in the UK. We first explore the determinants of using social networks as a channel for looking for jobs. Our focus does not only lie on the main search method of job search, rather we also use information on whether social networks are used as a method of search among many alternative ones. We subsequently investigate the social network effects on labour market outcomes in terms of job-finding rates. On the basis of the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the period 1992 to 2010, the analysis explores the role of two key aspects of immigrants′ human capital: the education level and years since immigration. We show that immigrants are more likely than White British-born to rely on using social networks as a main search method, although no crucial difference is found when using personal contacts as a method of job search. However, immigrants are as likely as natives to find employment through their social network, yet among both groups, the less educated are more likely to succeed in obtaining jobs through contacts. Finally, the findings reveal no systematic pattern in the effect of years in the UK on job search success among immigrant groups.

• Unemployment Benefits and Immigration: Evidence from the EU, with Martin Guzi, Martin Kahanec and Klaus F Zimmermann, International Journal of Manpower, 34(1), 24–38, 2013
  
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Unemployment benefits and immigration: evidence from the EU
Purpose
– Economic theory predicts that unemployment benefits may increase expected income and reduce its volatility, thereby attracting immigrants to countries which implement such programs. This article aims to explore whether and how changes in countries' unemployment benefit spending (UBS) affect immigration.
Design/methodology/approach
– Data are collected for 19 European countries over the period 1993‐2008. The relationship between immigration flows and UBS is first tested using the OLS technique. Instrumental variable (IV) and generalised method of moments (GMM) are then used to address reverse causality.
Findings
– While the OLS estimates suggest the existence of a moderate within‐country welfare magnet effect for the inflows of non‐EU immigrants, the IV approach reveals that the impact is substantially smaller and statistically insignificant when GMM techniques are implemented.
Research limitations/implications
– Since information on the immigrants' country of origin is not available, it is not possible to exclude that for immigrants coming from certain areas, unemployment benefits constitute a strong incentive to immigrate. This hypothesis awaits further research, once detailed data is available.
Originality/value
– This paper complements previous literature on immigration and welfare by exploring the endogenous nature of welfare spending. The empirical results provide insights into the interaction between immigration and welfare policies.

• Self-Employment of Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China, with Guangjie Ning and Klaus F Zimmermann, International Journal of Manpower, 33(1), 96–117, 2012
  
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Self-Employment of Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of self‐employment among rural to urban migrants in China.
Design/methodology/approach
– The analysis is based on a sample of migrant household heads from the 2008 Rural‐Urban Migration in China and Indonesia (RUMiCI) survey. An estimate of the wage differential between self‐employed and employed workers is obtained by means of an endogenous switching model and used to estimate the employment choice. The procedure is extended to account for migration selectivity bias, for alternative statuses before migration, and for different post‐migration employment histories.
Findings
– Self‐employed migrants are positively selected with respect to their unobserved characteristics; their wages are substantially higher than what they would have obtained had they chosen paid work. Furthermore, even after accounting for the substantial heterogeneity across cities, industries, occupations, and after correcting for the migration selectivity bias, the wage differential is found to be an important determinant of self‐employment.
Research limitations/implications
– The finding that market imperfections do not constrain the self‐employment choice of migrants does not imply that reforms designed to eliminate institutional barriers are undesirable. Policy should target the reduction of gaps between urban residents and migrants (such as the household registration system – hukou), so that migrants can access new business opportunities which are currently a prerogative of urban residents.
Originality/value
– The paper analyses the determinants of self‐employment using a recent survey based on a sample of rural‐to‐urban migrants in China. The key findings indicate that migrants who choose self‐employment are positively selected in terms of their unobservable characteristics. Moreover, the wage differential has a strong positive effect on the probability of choosing self‐employment. In the transition to a market economy, which is taking place in China, the identification of the determinants of self‐employment is crucial.

• Combining Census and Registration Data to Analyse Ethnic Migration Patterns in England from 1991 to 2007, with James Raymer and Peter WF Smith, Population, Place and Space, 17, 73–88, 2011
  
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Combining Census and Registration Data to Analyse Ethnic Migration Patterns in England from 1991 to 2007
In this paper, we develop a model that allows us to combine annual (incomplete) registration data with (auxiliary) census data. The result is a synthetic data base that can be used to analyse the evolution of specific migrant groups over time. For illustration, we model the evolution of ethnic interregional migration in England by age and sex from 1991 to 2007 by combining National Health Service registration data with 1991 and 2001 Census data. This annual time series of detailed migration flows are useful for both planning and for understanding ethnic population redistribution. Furthermore, changes over time can be related to regions exhibiting, for example, high unemployment, high costs of living or high immigrant concentrations.
• Combining Available Migration Data in England to Study Economic Activity Flows over Time, with Peter WF Smith and James Raymer, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, 173(4), 733–753, 2010
  
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Combining Available Migration Data in England to Study Economic Activity Flows over Time
Information about internal migration in England may come from decennial censuses, surveys or population (health) registers. We propose a methodology that allows us to combine aspects from multiple sources of data to provide a time series of detailed migration flows. By detailed, we refer to a migration flow table cross-classified by origin, destination, age, sex and economic activity (e.g. employees, retirees or students). Our results can be used to analyse the movements of various population groups between counties in England over time.
• Ethnic Migration Between Area Groups in England and Wales, with James Raymer, Area, 41(4), 435–451, 2009
  
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Ethnic Migration Between Area Groups in England and Wales
In this paper, we explore internal migration in England and Wales by broad groups of ethnicity, education and employment status from 1991 to 2004. The aim is to identify key differences in the patterns and trends over time so that a better understanding of the processes can take place. Our analyses focus on migration between twelve area groups defined by the Office for National Statistics, which are comprised of Local Authority Districts and include such areas as London Cosmopolitan, London Suburbs, Coastal and Countryside and Industrial Hinterlands. By analysing the migration flows between these area groupings, we can focus our attention on the types of destinations various migrant groups choose given particular origin types. The data come from the 2001 Census and the National Health Service Central Register from 1991 to 2004. Strong stability over time is demonstrated in the aggregate patterns of origin-destination- specific flows. However, when disaggregated by region, ethnicity, education and employment, very different patterns emerge which gives some useful insights into the redistribution of England and Wales' ethnic populations and compositions.

BOOK CHAPTERS

• Welfare Migration, with Jackline Wahba, in "International Handbook on the Economics of Migration", Klaus F Zimmermann and Amelie F Constant eds, Edward Elgar Publishing, 1015–1048, 2013
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  Welfare Migration
  This chapter reviews and discusses major theories and empirical studies about the welfare magnet hypothesis, i.e. whether immigrants are more likely to move to countries with generous welfare systems. Although economic theory predicts that welfare generosity affects the number, composition and location of immigrants, the empirical evidence is rather mixed. We offer possible explanations for the existence of such mixed evidence and highlight that the literature so far has overlooked the presence of different migration regimes, as well as the possibility of reverse causality between welfare spending and immigration.
• Analysing Structures of Interregional Migration in England, with James Raymer, in "Technologies for Migration and Population Analysis: Spatial Interaction Data Applications", John Stillwell, Oliver Duke-Williams and Adam Dennett eds, IGI Global, 280–293, 2010
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  Analysing structures of Interregional Migration in England
  In this chapter, we explore the age and ethnic structures of interregional migration in England, as measured by the 1991 and 2001 Censuses. In doing so, we first analyse the main effect and two-way interaction components of migration ow tables cross-classified by (1) origin, destination and age and (2) origin, destination and ethnicity. Second, we test the significance of three-way interaction terms over time by comparing various unsaturated log-linear model fits. The aim is to identify the key structures in the migration ow tables and how they have changed over time. This is important for understanding the mechanisms underlying the more general patterns of migration. These analyses could also be used to inform the estimation or projection of migration flows. Our findings are that, despite a large increase in the levels of interregional migration, migration structures in England have remained fairly stable over time. The main changes have to do with the increases in the relative levels of ethnic migration over time, which has been unequal across space.

EDITED VOLUMES

• "Demand for Labor: The Neglected Side of the Market" by Daniel S. Hamermesh, Oxford University Press, 2017 (co-edited with Klaus F Zimmermann)
  


• Research in Labor Economics, 37, 2013 (co-edited with Konstantinos Tatsiramos and Klaus F Zimmermann)
  


• International Journal of Manpower, 32(7), 728–730, 2011
  

BOOK REVIEWS

• "Immigration, Poverty, and Socioeconomic Inequality", David Card and Steven Raphael eds, New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2013. Published in Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 67(3), 788–789, 2014
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• "Cultural Integration of Immigrants in Europe", Yann Algan, Alberto Bisin, Alan Manning, and Thierry Verdier eds, Oxford University Press, 2012. Published in Economica, 81(324), 793–794, 2014
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REPORTS

• Empowering the NHS: Challenges for the pandemic, with Armine Ghazaryan and Jackline Wahba, 2020
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  Empowering the NHS: Challenges for the pandemic
  During the worst phase of the Covid-19 outbreak, the UK government's slogan was: stay home, save lives, protect the NHS. This message clearly shows that protecting the capacity of NHS services is vital for dealing with such a pandemic. Therefore, an important question is whether the NHS had been protected in the years leading up to the outbreak.
• CPC-ONS-UUK Survey of Graduating International Students 2017, with Jane Falkingham, Jackline Wahba and Chuhong Wang, 2017
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  CPC-ONS-UUK Survey of Graduating International Students 2017
  The 2017 CPC-ONS-UUK Survey of Graduating International Students (SoGIS) is a collaborative effort between the ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC) at the University of Southampton, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Universities UK (UUK). The 2017 SoGIS is an online survey that collects detailed information from international students in UK Higher Education in their final year of study. The 2017 SoGIS provides valuable information about the post-study intentions of international students, the certainty of these intentions, their travel patterns, use of public services, and working patterns whilst studying of international students approaching course completion. The survey sampled both undergraduate and postgraduate, EU and non-EU finalist students. The first wave of the survey collected 3,560 responses from 51 participating Higher Education Institutions. This report discusses the representativeness of the sample as well as providing a description of the data collection and the variables collected.
• Mapping Diasporas in the European Union and the United States, with Jirka Taylor, Jennifer Rubin, Chris Giacomantonio, Flavia Tsang and Amelie F Constant, Linguere Mbaye, Maryam Naghsh-Nejad, Kristy Kruithof, Mafalda Pardal, Alex Hull and Tess Hellgren,  prepared for the European Commission, 2014
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  Mapping Diasporas in the European Union and the United States, prepared for the European Commission
  This report presents the findings of a study into diasporas in the EU and the US, which provides mapping data for key diaspora groups and also delivers concrete recommendations for their engagement. The study has been funded by the European Commission's Directorate General for Home Affairs (DG Home). The research was undertaken by RAND Europe in partnership with the Institute for the Study of Labor. This document is divided into three parts. Part I (Chapters 2 and 3) provides results from a mapping exercise using available national and international datasets on diaspora and migrant populations, to provide an overview – in addition to country-level profiles – of diaspora populations present in the EU and the US. Part II (Chapters 4 through 7) presents results of literature review, desk research, and survey and interview exercises with diaspora organisation representatives. These research activities were directed at understanding diaspora engagement activities taking place through sending countries, receiving countries, and international organisations. Part III provides a synthesis of these findings and culminates in a set of recommendations, policy considerations, potential barriers and drawbacks for diaspora engagement strategies, and suggestions for further research on diaspora engagement. This report will be of interest to government and civil society actors in the EU and the US – and potentially beyond – who seek to engage with diaspora populations for mutual benefit. The report will also be of interest to academic audiences interested in development, integration, migration, and diaspora studies.
• Study on Active Inclusion of Migrants, with Klaus F Zimmermann, Martin Kahanec, Alan Barrett, Bertrand Maître and M.artin Guzi, prepared for the European Commission, 2012.
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  Study on active inclusion of migrants
  The study on "Active inclusion of migrants" gives an expert assessment of the main trends in the situation of migrants with regard to social assistance and access to social services. It also include an in-depth analysis of the main determinants of these trends, and a comprehensive account of the mutual interaction of migration policies and broadly defined social assistance policies. To achieve these objectives, research along a number of dimensions and involving a broad range of available resources has been conducted. The study makes use of European Unionwide comparable micro-data (EU-SILC) to provide both descriptive and analytical assessments of how social assistance is used by migrants, relative to natives, across all European Union Member States. It also uses a purpose-made macro-level data to assess whether differences in welfare policies influence the nature of the migrants entering different countries and country-specific studies have been conducted to supplement the findings from the broader transnational level.
• The Integration of Migrants and its Effects on the Labour Market, with Werner Eichhorst, Martin Guzi, Martin Kendzia, Paola Monti, Tommaso Frattini, Klaus Nowotny, Peter Huber and Barbara Vandeweghe, prepared for the European Parliament, 2011
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  abstract

  [X]

  The integration of migrants and its effects on the labour market
  This study provides an overview of the situation of immigrants in the European Union, by focusing on the process of their integration and its impact on the labour market. Section 1 provides information on the scale of the migration phenomenon, focusing on the origin patterns of immigrants to the EU-27 and describing evidence about the need of immigrant workers. Section 2 explores in greater detail the employment situation of immigrants, their distribution across the industrial sectors and how this compares with the native population. The legal status of seasonal workers, posted workers and intra- corporate transferees from outside the EU is outlined in Section 3, where immigration legislation for these types of workers is described. Section 4 explores obstacles to the integration of immigrants and their children within the educational system, as well as their assimilation into the labour market. The role of both restrictive immigration policies and of practical barriers to integration is investigated. The impact of immigration on the wages and on the welfare state is considered in Section 5, where evidence from empirical studies is compared with the results of opinion surveys. Section 6 concludes the study with an overview of the current implementation of anti- discrimination laws in EU Member States. The section describes best practices taken at the national and company level which have been successful in promoting the integration of immigrants, preventing discrimination and improving their social inclusion. The final Section 7 gives some policy recommendations.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

• International students in the UK and Brexit, ESRC Centre for Population Change Briefing Papers, 59
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  abstract

  [X]

  International students in the UK and Brexit
  This policy brief brings together and discusses evidence about the role of international students in the UK. It focusses on their migration behaviour and preferences, and the influence of the Brexit process on their choices.
• Empowering the NHS: Challenges for the pandemic, ESRC Centre for Population Change Briefing Papers, 53
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  abstract

  [X]

  Empowering the NHS: Challenges for the pandemic
  In light of the Covid-19 outbreak and the increased pressure on the National Health Service (NHS), this briefing reflects on the UK's preparedness for such a pandemic. We ask whether the NHS has been equipped to save lives. Have the Brexit referendum and recent austerity impeded investment in the NHS?
• International Students in the UK: Perspective and Plans, ESRC Centre for Population Change Briefing Papers, 40
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  abstract

  [X]

  International Students in the UK: Perspective and Plans
  International students make up nearly one in ve of all students in UK Higher Education Institutions. Still, little is known about the drivers and impacts of student migration. Why do students choose the UK as their destination? What do they plan to do after they nish their studies? Do they want to stay or leave the UK after graduation and why? This policy brief provides an overview of a new survey of nal-year international students carried out by a joint team at the ESRC Centre for Population Change, Of ce for National Statistics and Universities UK.
• The Welfare Magnet Hypothesis and the Welfare Take-up of Migrants, IZA World of Labor, 2014
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  abstract

  [X]

  The welfare magnet hypothesis and the welfare take-up of migrants
  An increase in the minimum wage in immigrant destination countries raises the earnings that low-skilled migrants could expect to attain if they were to migrate. While some studies for the US indicate that a higher minimum wage induces immigration, contrasting evidence shows that immigrants are less likely to move into areas with higher or more frequent increases in the minimum wage. These different findings seem to reflect different relocation decisions by immigrants who have lived in the US for several years, who are more likely to move in response to higher minimum wages, and by new immigrants, who are less likely to move.
• Do Minimum Wages Induce Immigration?, IZA World of Labor, 2015 
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  abstract

  [X]

  Do minimum wages induce immigration?
  An increase in the minimum wage in immigrant destination countries raises the earnings that low-skilled migrants could expect to attain if they were to migrate. While some studies for the US indicate that a higher minimum wage induces immigration, contrasting evidence shows that immigrants are less likely to move into areas with higher or more frequent increases in the minimum wage. These different ndings seem to re ect different relocation decisions by immigrants who have lived in the US for several years, who are more likely to move in response to higher minimum wages, and by new immigrants, who are less likely to move.
• Youth Unemployment and Vocational Training, with Klaus F Zimmermann, Costanza Biavaschi, Werner Eichhorst, Michael Kendzia, Alexander Muravyev, Janneke Pieters, Nuria Rodrguez-Planas and Ricarda Schmidl, Foundations and Trends in Microeconomics, 9 (1–2), 1–157, 2013
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  abstract

  [X]

  Youth Unemployment and Vocational Training
  This paper focuses on the determinants of the labor market situation of young people in developed countries and the developing world, with a particular emphasis on the role of vocational training and education policies. We highlight the role of demographic factors, economic growth and labor market institutions in explaining young people's transition into work. Subsequently, we assess differences between the setup and functioning of the vocational education and training policies across major world regions as an important driver of differential labor market situation of youth. Based on our analysis, we argue in favor of voca- tional education and training systems combining work experience and general education and provide some policy recommendations regarding the implementation of education and training systems adapted to a country's economic and institutional context.
• Does Generous Welfare Attract Immigrants? Towards Evidence-Based Policy Making, with Martin Kahanec in "Social Benefits and Immigration", Elspeth Guild, Sergio Carrera and Katharina Eisele eds, Centre for European Policy Studies, 2013


• The Economics of Happiness, Economic Review, 30(2), 2012 


• Immigration and the UK Labour Market, Economic Review, 28(1), 2010