Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16636
Authors: Christina Gathmann; Christina Vonnahme; Jongoh Kim; Anna Busse
Abstract: Citizenship is the most important right a host country can bestow on its immigrant population. Yet, little is known which citizenship policies work and who actually benefits from them. To answer these questions, we estimate the marginal returns to citizenship on children’s school performance and skill development. For identification, we use two national reforms, which facilitated naturalization for first-generationimmigrants and introduced birthright citizenship. We find substantial unobserved heterogeneity in returns with reverse selection on gains, i.e., the returns are highest for those with the lowest propensity of take-up. Citizenship significantly improves the school performance of immigrant children but has only modest effects on test scores. Policy simulations indicate that raising citizenship take-up would generate sizable benefits overall. Based on marginal treatment response functions, we also show that expanding birthright citizenship carries higher returns than facilitating naturalization.
Keywords: Migration; Citizenship; Birthright; School Performance
JEL Codes: J15; I24; K37
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| citizenship (K37) | educational performance (I21) |
| citizenship (K37) | grade retention (I24) |
| citizenship (K37) | high school attendance (I21) |
| citizenship (K37) | school grades in math (C02) |
| citizenship (K37) | non-cognitive skills (D91) |
| reverse selection on citizenship gains (K37) | educational outcomes (I26) |
| citizenship (K37) | educational outcomes for Central and Eastern European children (I24) |
| citizenship (K37) | educational outcomes for Turkish children (I21) |