Naturalization and employment of immigrants in France (1968‐1999)

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the empirical link between the naturalization of immigrants and their subsequent employment status in France from 1968 to 1999.Design/methodology/approachFor that purpose, longitudinal data coming from a panel dataset which follows almost 1 percent of the French population from 1968 to 1999 through information contained in the 1968, 1975, 1982, 1990 and 1999 French censuses were used. Control for the potential endogeneity of the naturalization process was through a bivariate probit model.FindingsIt was found that naturalization has a significant positive relationship with immigrants' subsequent employability. This is particularly true for groups of immigrants who have a low probability of employment in the host country.Research limitations/implicationsThe dataset can only measure statistical association between naturalization and employment, given the lack of timing information. Interpretation in terms of causality is thus not permitted.Originality/valueThe dataset used is especially valuable for studying social integration of immigrants, since it allows significant samples of immigrants, according to their country of origin, these groups being generally too small in other surveys.

Immigration and the school system

“…It allows entry into certain jobs that are reserved to nationals only, but also gives advantages in terms of signaling long-term commitment and the flexibility to travail. The same results are found by Steinhardt (2008) for Germany and Fourgère and Fougère and Safi (2008) for France. 37 This prediction in consistent with Dronkers and Fleischmann (2010) who study immigration in 13 EU countries and find that a significant macro-characteristic for the educational performance of immigrant children is the destination country's naturalization policy.…”

Anticipating the citizenship premium: before and after effects of immigrant naturalisation on employment

“…For instance, most longitudinal studies reveal some positive effects of naturalisation, but also show that the relationship is to a varying degree (and in some cases entirely) attributable to self-selection (Bratsberg, Ragan, and Nasir 2002;Engdahl 2014;Scott 2008;Steinhardt 2012). Moreover, the citizenship premium is sometimes only observed for particular migrant groups, such as those from economically less developed countries of origin (Fougère and Safi 2009). It is hard to compare these studies in the literature given notable differences in the types of data, methods and controls, but it is clear that there is substantial empirical heterogeneity between contributions, even when accounting for endogeneity in the naturalisation process (see Helgertz, Bevelander, and Tegunimataka [2014, 343] for an overview).…”

“…Bakker, Dagevos, and Engbersen 2016;Fougère and Safi 2009;Helgertz, Bevelander, and Tegunimataka 2014;Steinhardt 2012), yet the mechanisms through which citizenship affects economic integration remain unclear. The established theoretical framework focusses on how citizenship acquisition facilitates access to the labour market, reduces administrative costs in the hiring process and functions as a positive signalling device, but these mechanisms fail to explain substantial empirical ambiguity.…”

Naturalization and citizenship: Who benefits?

“…However, this study does not take into account the fact that most immigrants improve their economic position relative to natives over time in the host country-which is not necessarily related to the acquisition of citizenship. It is likely, therefore, that the French study overstates the effects of citizenship on employment [5].…”

“…In order to detect causality, recent studies (since 2002) have used panel data, which observe immigrants over several years [1], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]. The key advantage of this type of data is that it allows for observation of the same immigrant both before and after becoming eligible for naturalizing in the host country.…”