IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/ubzefd/7125.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

A Reluctance to Assimilate

Author

Listed:
  • Stark, Oded
  • Fan, C. Simon

Abstract

Quite often, migrants appear to exert little effort to absorb the mainstream culture and to learn the language of their host society, even though the economic returns (increased productivity and enhanced earnings) to assimilation are high. We show that when interpersonal comparisons affect individuals' wellbeing and when a more intensive assimilation results in migrants' comparing themselves more with the richer natives and less with fellow migrants, then the effort extended to assimilate will be muted.

Suggested Citation

  • Stark, Oded & Fan, C. Simon, 2006. "A Reluctance to Assimilate," Discussion Papers 7125, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ubzefd:7125
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.7125
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/7125/files/dp060111.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.7125?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stark, Oded & Wang, You Qiang, 2005. "Towards a Theory of Self-Segregation as a Response to Relative Deprivation: Steady-State Outcomes and Social Welfare," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 223-242.
    2. George A. Akerlof, 1997. "Social Distance and Social Decisions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(5), pages 1005-1028, September.
    3. David M. Cutler & Edward L. Glaeser & Jacob L. Vigdor, 2008. "Is the Melting Pot Still Hot? Explaining the Resurgence of Immigrant Segregation," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 478-497, August.
    4. Borjas, George J, 1995. "Assimilation and Changes in Cohort Quality Revisited: What Happened to Immigrant Earnings in the 1980s?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(2), pages 201-245, April.
    5. Borjas, George J & Bronars, Stephen G & Trejo, Stephen J, 1992. "Assimilation and the Earnings of Young Internal Migrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(1), pages 170-175, February.
    6. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
    7. Barry R. Chiswick, 2005. "The Economics of Immigration," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3160.
    8. Erzo F. P. Luttmer, 2005. "Neighbors as Negatives: Relative Earnings and Well-Being," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(3), pages 963-1002.
    9. David Austen-Smith & Roland G. Fryer, 2005. "An Economic Analysis of "Acting White"," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 551-583.
    10. Shlomo Yitzhaki, 1979. "Relative Deprivation and the Gini Coefficient," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 93(2), pages 321-324.
    11. Christine Eibner & William N. Evans, 2005. "Relative Deprivation, Poor Health Habits, and Mortality," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(3).
    12. Edward P. Lazear, 1999. "Culture and Language," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 95-126, December.
    13. Oded Stark, 1991. "The Migration of Labor," Blackwell Books, Wiley Blackwell, number 1557860300, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Peter Huber & Klaus Nowotny & Julia Bock-Schappelwein, 2010. "Qualification Structure, Over- and Under-qualification of the Foreign Born in Austria and the EU," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 41226, April.
    2. Oded Stark, 2010. "Looking at the Integration of Nations through the Lens of the Merger of Populations: Preliminary Superadditivity and Impossibility Results," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 146(IV), pages 661-675, December.
    3. Stark, Oded, 2013. "On the Economics of Others," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue 5, pages 709-715.
    4. Stark, Oded, 2015. "Comparing the Global and Merged with the Local and Separate: On a Downside to the Integration of Regions and Nations," East Asian Economic Review, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, vol. 19(4), pages 325-355, December.
    5. Stark, Oded, 2023. "On a tendency in health economics to dwell on income inequality and underestimate social stress," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    6. Oded Stark & Ewa Zawojska, 2016. "Will a government find it financially easier to neutralize a looming protest if more groups are involved?," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 435-450, December.
    7. Stark, Oded & Dorn, Agnieszka, 2013. "Do family ties with those left behind intensify or weaken migrants’ assimilation?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 1-5.
    8. Andreas Knabe & Steffen Rätzel & Stephan L. Thomsen, 2013. "Right-Wing Extremism and the Well-Being of Immigrants," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(4), pages 567-590, November.
    9. Stark, Oded & Fan, C. Simon, 2011. "Migration for degrading work as an escape from humiliation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 241-247, March.
    10. Klaus Nowotny, 2011. "Welfare Magnets, Taxation and the Location Decisions of Migrants to the EU," ERSA conference papers ersa11p133, European Regional Science Association.
    11. Julia Gelatt, 2013. "Looking Down or Looking Up: Status and Subjective Well-Being among Asian and Latino Immigrants in the United States," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(1), pages 39-75, March.
    12. Oded Stark & Walter Hyll, 2011. "On the Economic Architecture of the Workplace: Repercussions of Social Comparisons among Heterogeneous Workers," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(2), pages 349-375.
    13. Yuqi Liu & Ye Liu & Yanliu Lin, 2021. "Upward or downward comparison? Migrants’ socioeconomic status and subjective wellbeing in Chinese cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(12), pages 2490-2513, September.
    14. Stark, Oded & Bielawski, Jakub & Jakubek, Marcin, 2015. "The impact of the assimilation of migrants on the well-being of native inhabitants: A theory," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 71-78.
    15. Oded Stark & Franz Rendl & Marcin Jakubek, 2012. "The merger of populations, the incidence of marriages, and aggregate unhappiness," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 331-344, April.
    16. Walter Hyll, 2018. "Relative concerns at the workplace: on the design of the firm as a social space," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 245-264, April.
    17. Stark, Oded & Jakubek, Marcin, 2013. "Migration networks as a response to financial constraints: Onset, and endogenous dynamics," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 1-7.
    18. Klaus Nowotny, 2011. "AFLA – Arbeitskräftemobilität und Fachkräftebedarf nach der Liberalisierung des österreichischen Arbeitsmarktes. Migrations- und Pendelpotentiale nach Ende der Übergangsfristen für die Arbeitskräftefr," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 41563.
    19. Agata Górny & Sabina Toruńczyk-Ruiz, 2015. "Relative deprivation and ‘the diversity effect’ in explaining neighbourhood attachment: Alternative or complementary mechanisms?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(5), pages 984-990, April.
    20. Klaus Nowotny & Robert Hierländer, 2009. "FAMO – Fachkräftemonitoring. Regelmäßige Erhebung des Angebots und des Bedarfs an Fachkräften in der Grenzregion Ostösterreichs mit der Slowakei. FAMO I: Migrations- und Pendelpotentiale in Wien und d," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 37422.
    21. Stark, Oded, 2022. "Risk-laden migration as a response to relative deprivation: A hypothesis," Discussion Papers 329580, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    22. Junko Doi & Laixun Zhao, 2012. "Immigration Conflicts," Discussion Paper Series DP2012-29, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Dec 2012.
    23. Allan B. I. Bernardo & Mary Angeline A. Daganzo & Anna Carmella G. Ocampo, 2018. "Abusive Supervision and Well-Being of Filipino Migrant Workers in Macau: Consequences for Self-Esteem and Heritage Culture Detachment," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 277-292, August.
    24. Jakub Bielawski & Marcin Jakubek, 2021. "The Interplay between Migrants and Natives as a Determinant of Migrants’ Assimilation: A Coevolutionary Approach," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 13(3), pages 213-251, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stark, Oded & Jakubek, Marcin, 2013. "Integration as a catalyst for assimilation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 62-70.
    2. Walter Hyll, 2017. "Gender Quotas and Human Capital Formation: A Relative Deprivation Approach," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 18(3), pages 302-326, August.
    3. Oded Stark & Walter Hyll & Yong Wang, 2012. "Endogenous Selection of Comparison Groups, Human Capital Formation, and Tax Policy," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 79(313), pages 62-75, January.
    4. Jakub Bielawski & Marcin Jakubek, 2021. "The Interplay between Migrants and Natives as a Determinant of Migrants’ Assimilation: A Coevolutionary Approach," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 13(3), pages 213-251, September.
    5. Harminder Battu & Yves Zenou, 2010. "Oppositional Identities and Employment for Ethnic Minorities: Evidence from England," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(542), pages 52-71, February.
    6. Harminder Battu & McDonald Mwale & Yves Zenou, 2007. "Oppositional identities and the labor market," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 20(3), pages 643-667, July.
    7. Mariko Nakagawa & Yasuhiro Sato & Kazuhiro Yamamoto, 2019. "Segregation and Public Spending under Social Identification," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1132, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    8. Nick Drydakis, 2013. "The effect of ethnic identity on the employment of immigrants," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 285-308, June.
    9. Baochun Peng, 2008. "Relative deprivation, wealth inequality and economic growth," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 94(3), pages 223-229, September.
    10. Alberto Bisin & Eleonora Patacchini & Thierry Verdier & Yves Zenou, 2011. "Ethnic identity and labour market outcomes of immigrants in Europe [Assessing the oppositional culture explanation for racial/ethnic differences in school performance]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 26(65), pages 57-92.
    11. Bisin, Alberto & Patacchini, Eleonora & Verdier, Thierry & Zenou, Yves, 2016. "Bend it like Beckham: Ethnic identity and integration," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 146-164.
    12. Oded STARK & Wiktor Budzinski, 2019. "Repercussions of Negatively Selective Migration for the Behavior of Non-Migrants when Preferences Are Social," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 85(2), pages 165-179, June.
    13. Stark, Oded, 2006. "Inequality and migration: A behavioral link," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 146-152, April.
    14. Oded Stark & Wiktor Budzinski, 2021. "A social‐psychological reconstruction of Amartya Sen’s measures of inequality and social welfare," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(4), pages 552-566, November.
    15. Sato, Yasuhiro & Zenou, Yves, 2020. "Assimilation patterns in cities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    16. Nekby, Lena & Rödin, Magnus, 2007. "Acculturation Identity and Labor Market Outcomes," Research Papers in Economics 2007:7, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
    17. Walter Hyll, 2018. "Relative concerns at the workplace: on the design of the firm as a social space," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 245-264, April.
    18. Kingdon, Geeta Gandhi & Knight, John, 2007. "Community, comparisons and subjective well-being in a divided society," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 69-90, September.
    19. Carillo, Maria Rosaria & Lombardo, Vincenzo & Venittelli, Tiziana, 2021. "Identity and Labor Market Outcomes of Immigrants," GLO Discussion Paper Series 749, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    20. Clark, Andrew E. & D'Ambrosio, Conchita, 2014. "Attitudes to Income Inequality: Experimental and Survey Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 8136, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor and Human Capital;

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:ubzefd:7125. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/zefbnde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.