Migration across developed countries: German immigrants in Sweden and the US
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| Author | Yitchak Haberfeld,Debora Pricila Birgier,Christer Lundh,Erik Elldér |
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12706 |
Migration across developed countries:
German immigrants in Sweden and the US
Yitchak Haberfeld*, Debora Pricila Birgier*, Christer Lundh** and Erik Elld
er**
ABSTRACT
The present study evaluates the interplay between the effects of host countries' characteristics
and self-selection patterns of immigrants from a highly developed country on their economic
assimilation in other developed countries. The focus is on immigrants originated from Ger-
many during 1990–2000 who migrated to Sweden and the US. The results show that almost
all German immigrants reached full earnings assimilation with natives of similar observed attri-
butes, and that the assimilation of highly educated Germans was better than that of the less
educated. It was also found that the skilled immigrants were compensated for their human cap-
ital acquired in Germany. Finally, the better assimilation of German immigrants, especially the
highly educated, took place in the US. This finding was probably the result of an interaction
between the Germans’pattern of self-selection and the US context of reception.
INTRODUCTION
Patterns of immigrants’self-selection influence immigrants’economic performance at their destina-
tions. Obviously, receiving countries’characteristics serve as signals for prospective immigrants
who choose among destinations, and in the same time, affect their assimilation after arriving there.
Most research on the impact of the interaction between (1) immigrants’self-selection from their
countries of origin; (2) potential host countries’characteristics; and consequently (3) immigrants’
sorting into those destinations –on the economic assimilation of immigrants –has been centred on
migration waves from less developed to highly developed countries. The more developed countries
compete with one another by adjusting their migration policies in order to attract highly skilled
immigrants from the less developed regions of the world (Iredale, 1999; Mahroum, 2001; Quaked,
2002; Commander et al., 2004).
However, this issue, labelled as “brain drain”(e.g., Docquier, 2014), concerns not only migration
from developing to developed countries. Despite its increasing importance, empirical research on
migration between developed countries has been scanty and not systematic (e.g., Iredale, 1999;
Lofstrom, 2000). As of 2000, the estimates range between 28 million migrants (about one fifth of
all international migration) (Docquier, 2014;
€
Ozden et al., 2011) to more than 40 million migrants
(United Nations, 2017) who moved between developed countries, half of whom were highly
skilled.
* Tel-Aviv University
** University of Gothenburg
The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons.com/publon/10.1111/IMIG.12706 [Correction
added on 23 January 2021, after first online publication: URL for peer review history has been corrected.]
doi: 10.1111/imig.12706
©2020 The Authors
International Migration ©2020 IOM
International Migration Vol. 58 (6) 2021
ISSN 0020-7985Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This article offers a systematic study of first, the patterns of immigrants’selectivity in out-migra-
tion from a highly developed country (Germany) and their sorting to two similarly developed desti-
nations (Sweden and the US). Second, this article investigates the impacts of the interactions
between those sorting patterns and the host countries’characteristics on the immigrants’economic
assimilation. Its design builds on looking at immigrants originated from one country (Germany),
during the same period (1990 –2000) to two different destination countries (Sweden and the US).
Such a design allows us to examine the consequences of immigrants’self-sorting patterns on the
economic assimilation among relatively highly skilled immigrants (Cohen and Haberfeld, 2007;
Cohen, Haberfeld and Kogan, 2011; Haberfeld and Lundh, 2014; Birgier et al., 2016; Lewin-
Epstein et al., 2003), and to better assess the contribution of the highly developed destination coun-
tries’attributes both to patterns of self-sorting and economic assimilation of well-trained and highly
skilled immigrants.
Despite the similarities between the US and Sweden in their level of development, these two
countries vary a lot in major dimensions affecting migrants’choice and economic assimilation pat-
terns. The US and Sweden have different migration and welfare policies, different earnings distribu-
tions and different mechanisms under which their labour markets operate. For example, the level of
earnings inequality is high in the US and low in Sweden. The source country, Germany, is located
in between the two (OECD, 2018). Such differences allow us to study the impacts of those across
(developed) country determinants on the sorting and assimilation of immigrants arriving from
(other) developed countries.
This study also focuses on the gender dimensions of highly skilled migrants in host societies, as
studies conducted on the topic have systematically neglected the presence of women in skilled
transnational migration (Kofman, 2000). Between the destinations involved in the present study,
Sweden had a much more generous welfare system designed, among other goals, to help women
with children to integrate into the labour market (Mandel and Semyonov, 2006). Clearly, such a
system is more attractive to highly-skilled immigrant women who seek market employment.
Consequently, four groups of German immigrants –derived from immigrants’gender (men/
women) and immigrants’skills (i.e., with/without an academic degree) will be studied here because
selection, sorting, and assimilation patterns might vary by immigrants’gender and skills.
To sum, this article focuses on two interrelated research questions. First, are there differences in
earnings determinants attributes (observed and unobserved) between the two groups of German
immigrants (those who headed to the US and those who chose Sweden) resulting from the unique
reception context in each destination? Second, if indeed such differences are found, then what are
their impacts on the economic assimilation of the German immigrants in the US and Sweden?
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Self-selection, sorting and assimilation
Scholars have pointed out two main interrelated determinants of immigrant’s economic assimilation
namely, immigrants’patterns of self-selection from their countries of origin (Chiswick, 1978;
Borjas, 1985), and the host country’s reception context (Borjas, 1990; Portes and Rumbaut, 1990).
Understanding the joint contribution of these two factors on the economic assimilation of immi-
grants has important implications for policy-making (Borjas, 1990; Card, 2005).
Immigrants’patterns of self-selection are one of the main determinants of their economic assimi-
lation. The concept of ‘self-selection’was originated by Roy (1951) in the context of occupational
choice, but has since been applied to many types of rational choice-making. Borjas (1987) intro-
duced it in the study of decisions made by potential immigrants at source countries whether, and
172 Haberfeld et al.
©2020 The Authors. International Migration ©2020 IOM
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