Labour Migrant Adjustments in the Aftermath of the Financial Crisis

25 Pages Posted: 5 Jul 2014

See all articles by Bernt Bratsberg

Bernt Bratsberg

University of Oslo - Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research; Kansas State University - Department of Economics

Oddbjorn Raaum

University of Oslo - Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research

Knut Roed

Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Abstract

Based on individual longitudinal data, we examine the evolution of employment and earnings of post‐EU accession Eastern European labour immigrants to Norway for a period of up to eight years after entry. We find that the migrants were particularly vulnerable to the negative labour demand shock generated by the financial crisis. During the winter months of 2008/09, the fraction of immigrant men claiming unemployment insurance benefits rose from below 2 to 14 per cent. Some of this increase turned out to be persistent, and unemployment remained considerably higher among immigrants than natives even three years after the crisis. Although we find that negative labour demand shocks raise the probability of return migration, the majority of the labour migrants directly affected by the downturn stayed in Norway and claimed unemployment insurance benefits.

Keywords: migration, assimilation, social insurance

JEL Classification: F22, H55, J22

Suggested Citation

Bratsberg, Bernt and Raaum, Oddbjørn and Røed, Knut, Labour Migrant Adjustments in the Aftermath of the Financial Crisis. IZA Discussion Paper No. 8291, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2462723 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2462723

Bernt Bratsberg (Contact Author)

University of Oslo - Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research ( email )

Gaustadalleen 21
N-0349 Oslo
Norway

Kansas State University - Department of Economics ( email )

Manhattan, KS 66502-4001
United States

Oddbjørn Raaum

University of Oslo - Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research ( email )

Gaustadalleen 21
N-0317 Oslo
Norway

Knut Røed

Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research ( email )

Gaustadalleen 21
N-0349 Oslo
Norway

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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