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Long-run integration of refugees: RCT evidence from a Swedish early intervention program

Author

Listed:
  • Dahlberg, Matz

    (Uppsala University)

  • Egebark, Johan

    (Arbetsförmedlingen)

  • Vikman, Ulrika

    (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy)

Abstract

This study uses a randomized control trial (RCT) to evaluate a new program for increased labor market integration of refugees. The program has immediate and substantial short-run effects on employment, corresponding to around 15 percentage points. The effect lasts for three years but eventually fades out, as the control group catches up and reaches the long-run employment level of about 50 percent. We show that the program boosts language skills in the short run, and that this channel explains an increasing share of the effect on employment. Using survey data, we finally measure if the program affects integration in other dimensions, such as psychological, social, political, and navigational integration. Our findings suggest that faster labor market integration in the short run does not lead to increased general integration in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Dahlberg, Matz & Egebark, Johan & Vikman, Ulrika, 2023. "Long-run integration of refugees: RCT evidence from a Swedish early intervention program," Working Paper Series 2023:23, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2023_023
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aksoy, Cevat Giray & Poutvaara, Panu & Schikora, Felicitas, 2023. "First time around: Local conditions and multi-dimensional integration of refugees," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Francesco Fasani & Tommaso Frattini & Luigi Minale, 2021. "Lift the Ban? Initial Employment Restrictions and Refugee Labour Market Outcomes," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(5), pages 2803-2854.
    3. David Card & Jochen Kluve & Andrea Weber, 2018. "What Works? A Meta Analysis of Recent Active Labor Market Program Evaluations," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 894-931.
    4. Mette Foged & Linea Hasager & Giovanni Peri, 2024. "Comparing the Effects of Policies for the Labor Market Integration of Refugees," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(S1), pages 335-377.
    5. Foged, Mette & van der Werf, Cynthia, 2023. "Access to language training and the local integration of refugees," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Pont-Grau, Alex & Lei, Yu-Hsiang & Lim, Joel Z.E. & Xia, Xing, 2023. "The effect of language training on immigrants’ integration: Does the duration of training matter?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 160-198.
    7. Foged, Mette & van der Werf, Cynthia, 2023. "Access to Language Training and the Local Integration of Refugees," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 12862, Inter-American Development Bank.
    8. Hans Grönqvist & J. Peter Nilsson & Per-Olof Robling, 2020. "Understanding How Low Levels of Early Lead Exposure Affect Children’s Life Trajectories," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(9), pages 3376-3433.
    9. Matti Sarvimäki & Kari Hämäläinen, 2016. "Integrating Immigrants: The Impact of Restructuring Active Labor Market Programs," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(2), pages 479-508.
    10. Niklas Harder & Lucila Figueroa & Rachel M. Gillum & Dominik Hangartner & David D. Laitin & Jens Hainmueller, 2018. "Multidimensional measure of immigrant integration," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 115(45), pages 11483-11488, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Refugee immigration; Multidimensional integration; Randomized control trial; Field experiment; Labor market program; Employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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