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Is there a Refugee Gap? Evidence from Over a Century of Danish Naturalizations

Author

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  • Boberg-Fazlic, Nina

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Sharp, Paul

    (University of Southern Denmark, CAGE, CEPR)

Abstract

The “refugee gap” in the economic status of refugees relative to other migrants might be due to the experience of being a refugee, or to government policy, which often denies the right to work during lengthy application processes. In Denmark before the Second World War, however, refugees were not treated differently from other migrants, motivating our use of a database of the universe of Danish naturalizations between 1851 and 1960. We consider labor market performance and find that immigrants leaving conflicts fared no worse than other migrants, conditional on other characteristics, within this relatively homogenous sample of those who attained citizenship. Refugees must be provided with the same rights as other migrants if policy aims to ensure their economic success.

Suggested Citation

  • Boberg-Fazlic, Nina & Sharp, Paul, 2020. "Is there a Refugee Gap? Evidence from Over a Century of Danish Naturalizations," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 506, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:506
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    1. Sascha O. Becker, 2022. "Forced displacement in history: Some recent research," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 2-25, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Asylum policy; Denmark; immigration; naturalizations; refugee gap JEL Classification: F22; J61; N33; N34;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-

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