Events
Labor Market Integration of Refugees
University of Milan
Lift the Ban? Initial Employment Restrictions and Refugee Labor Market Outcomes - Refugee migration has recently occupied the central stage in the European migration policy debate. Indeed, the number of first-time asylum applications in EU countries has rapidly increased over the last decade, relative to previous years, and reached a peak during the so-called “refugee crisis” of 2015. Between 2012 and 2020, 6.1 million asylum applications have been filed in EU countries (including the UK), and the number of those with recognized refugee status has risen from 1.3 to 2.8 million over that period. These remarkable numbers necessarily raise the question of how to effectively and smoothly integrate such a large refugee population into host countries’ labor markets and societies. Little is known, however, about the crucial role that asylum policy design plays in shaping this process. Determining which specific features of asylum legislation can accelerate or hinder refugee integration lies at the core of the current policy debate. Evidence from past waves of forced migration in Europe (Fasani et al. 2021, Brell et al. 2020) suggests that refugees face significant hurdles to integrate in the labor market relative to both comparable natives and nonforced migrants. It would be thus reasonable to expect that asylum policies should aim to minimize those hurdles, rather than adding new ones.
Publication
Crossing Borders at a Glance : Interview of Prof. Tommaso Frattini
Contact
michel.beine@uni.lu, frederic.docquier@liser.lu
About the doctoral lecture series on cross-border labour mobility
Migration is part of humanity’s DNA. It has always been a normal and inevitable response to the economic, social, political, security and environmental challenges that have punctuated human history. Yet, workers’ mobility in general and international migration in particular are issues that divide public opinion in every country in the world.
This PhD course is jointly organized by LISER and CREA (University of Luxembourg) and is part of the MINLAB doctoral program on migration, labor and inequality funded by the FNR (PRIDE program). It covers topical issues related to the determinants of international migration, to its implications for sending and receiving countries, and to its effect on the world distribution of income.
It is organized as a set of monthly doctoral lectures given by renowned economists. Each speaker will provide a state-of-the-art analysis of existing methodologies and academic findings in his field of expertise. Upon completion of this course, student will have learnt about the cutting-edge developments in the migration literature and will be asked to write an essay on one of the topics covered.
