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Dual Citizenship Rights: Do They Make More and Better Citizens?

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  • Mazzolari, Francesca

    (Centro Studi Confindustria)

Abstract

In the 1990s, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Brazil passed dual citizenship laws granting their expatriates the right to naturalize in the receiving country without losing their nationality of origin. I estimate the effects of these new laws on naturalization rates and labor market outcomes in the United States. Based on data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. censuses, I find that immigrants recently granted dual nationality rights are more likely to naturalize. They also experience employment and earnings gains, together with drops in welfare use, suggesting that dual citizenship rights not only increase the propensity to naturalize but may also promote economic assimilation. The effects of dual citizenship on improved economic performance, if mediated through naturalization, are consistent with American citizenship conferring greater economic opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Mazzolari, Francesca, 2007. "Dual Citizenship Rights: Do They Make More and Better Citizens?," IZA Discussion Papers 3008, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3008
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bevelander, Pieter & Pendakur, Ravi, 2009. "Citizenship, Co-ethnic Populations and Employment Probabilities of Immigrants in Sweden," IZA Discussion Papers 4495, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Steinhardt, Max Friedrich, 2012. "Does citizenship matter? The economic impact of naturalizations in Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 813-823.
    3. Bevelander, Pieter & Pendakur, Ravi, 2011. "Citizenship and Employment ? comparing two cool countries," CEPR Discussion Papers 8182, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Jaap Dronkers & Maarten Peter Vink, 2012. "Explaining access to citizenship in Europe: How citizenship policies affect naturalization rates," European Union Politics, , vol. 13(3), pages 390-412, September.
    5. Changzoo Song, 2014. "Engaging the diaspora in an era of transnationalism," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-64, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    naturalization; dual citizenship; immigrants; assimilation;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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