Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP17184
Authors: Christian Dustmann; Hyejin Ku; Jacob Arendt
Abstract: Denmark has accepted refugees from a large variety of countries and for more than four decades. Denmark has also frequently changed policies and regulations concerning integration programs, transfer payments, and conditions for permanent residency. Such policy variation in conjunction with excellent administrative data provides an ideal laboratory to evaluate the effects of different immigration and integration policies on the outcomes of refugee immigrants. In this article, we first describe the Danish experience with refugee immigration over the past four decades. We then review different post-arrival refugee policies and summarize studies that evaluate their effects on the labor market performance of refugees. Lastly, we discuss and contrast these findings in the context of international studies of similar policies and draw conclusions for policy.
Keywords: refugee; integration; immigration policies; labor supply; employment; language
JEL Codes: J22; J24; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| dispersal policy (J68) | labor market performance of refugees (J68) |
| larger ethnic enclaves (R23) | higher earnings of refugees (J68) |
| dispersal policy (J68) | overall employment rates (J68) |
| employment support policies (J68) | duration of welfare dependence (I38) |
| language proficiency (G53) | employment rates (J68) |
| language training (M53) | successful labor market integration (J68) |
| welfare benefit reductions (I38) | employment rates (J68) |
| welfare benefit reductions (I38) | household income (D19) |
| welfare benefit reductions (I38) | crime rates (K42) |