IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/vfsc16/145882.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The causal effect of age at migration on youth educational attainment

Author

Listed:
  • Lemmermann, Dominique
  • Riphahn, Regina

Abstract

We investigate the causal effect of youths' age at immigration on subsequent educational attainment in the destination country. To identify the causal effect we compare the educational attainment of siblings at age 21, exploiting the fact that they typically migrate at different ages within a given family. We consider several education outcomes conditional on family fixed effects. We take advantage of long running and detailed data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, which entails an oversample of immigrants and provides information on language skills. We find significant effects of age at migration on educational attainment and a critical age of migration around age 6. We find that the educational attainment of female immigrants responds more strongly to a high age at immigration than that of males. We can exclude that the causal effect is determined only by language abilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Lemmermann, Dominique & Riphahn, Regina, 2016. "The causal effect of age at migration on youth educational attainment," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145882, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc16:145882
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/145882/1/VfS_2016_pid_7001.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas K. Bauer & Sebastian Braun & Michael Kvasnicka, 2013. "The Economic Integration of Forced Migrants: Evidence for Post‐War Germany," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123, pages 998-1024, September.
    2. Quintini, Glenda & Martin, John P. & Martin, Sébastien, 2007. "The Changing Nature of the School-to-Work Transition Process in OECD Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 2582, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. James Heckman & Flavio Cunha, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 31-47, May.
    4. World Demographic and Ageing Forum & David Bell & Alison Bowes & Axel Heitmueller, 2007. "Did the Introduction of Free Personal Care in Scotland in a Reduction of Informal Care?," Journal Article y:2007:i:1, World Demographic and Ageing Forum.
    5. Heineck Guido & Riphahn Regina T., 2009. "Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Attainment in Germany – The Last Five Decades," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(1), pages 36-60, February.
    6. Wolfgang Franz & Joachim Inkmann & Winfried Pohlmeier & Volker Zimmermann, 2000. "Young and Out in Germany (On Youths? Chances of Labor Market Entrance in Germany)," NBER Chapters, in: Youth Employment and Joblessness in Advanced Countries, pages 381-426, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Saurer, Judith & Felfe, Christina, 2014. "Granting Birthright Citizenship - A Door Opener for Immigrant Children's Educational Participation and Success?," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100548, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Åslund, Olof & Böhlmark, Anders & Nordström Skans, Oskar, 2009. "Age at migration and social integration," Working Paper Series 2009:21, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    9. Cahit Guven & Asadul Islam, 2015. "Age at Migration, Language Proficiency, and Socioeconomic Outcomes: Evidence From Australia," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 513-542, April.
    10. Joseph Schaafsma & Arthur Sweetman, 2001. "Immigrant earnings: age at immigration matters," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 34(4), pages 1066-1099, November.
    11. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman, 2009. "The Economics and Psychology of Inequality and Human DEvelopment," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 7(2-3), pages 320-364, 04-05.
    12. Ruhose, Jens & Schwerdt, Guido, 2016. "Does early educational tracking increase migrant-native achievement gaps? Differences-in-differences evidence across countries," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 134-154.
    13. Amelie Constant & Douglas S. Massey, 2003. "Self-selection, earnings, and out-migration: A longitudinal study of immigrants to Germany," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(4), pages 631-653, November.
    14. van Ours, Jan C. & Veenman, Justus, 2006. "Age at immigration and educational attainment of young immigrants," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 310-316, March.
    15. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
    16. KIrdar, Murat G., 2009. "Labor market outcomes, savings accumulation, and return migration," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 418-428, August.
    17. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    18. Gerard J. Berg & Petter Lundborg & Paul Nystedt & Dan-Olof Rooth, 2014. "Critical Periods During Childhood And Adolescence," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(6), pages 1521-1557, December.
    19. Hoyt Bleakley & Aimee Chin, 2010. "Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation among US Immigrants," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 165-192, January.
    20. Hoyt Bleakley & Aimee Chin, 2004. "Language Skills and Earnings: Evidence from Childhood Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 481-496, May.
    21. Yann Algan & Christian Dustmann & Albrecht Glitz & Alan Manning, 2010. "The Economic Situation of First and Second-Generation Immigrants in France, Germany and the United Kingdom," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(542), pages 4-30, February.
    22. Regina T. Riphahn, 2003. "Cohort effects in the educational attainment of second generation immigrants in Germany: An analysis of census data," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(4), pages 711-737, November.
    23. Colding, Bjørg & Husted, Leif & Hummelgaard, Hans, 2009. "Educational progression of second-generation immigrants and immigrant children," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 434-443, August.
    24. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/536kq4edtr82jqovubq3ttobc5 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Åslund, Olof & Böhlmark, Anders & Skans, Oskar Nordström, 2015. "Childhood and family experiences and the social integration of young migrants," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 135-144.
    26. Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Biavaschi, Costanza & Eichhorst, Werner & Giulietti, Corrado & Kendzia, Michael J. & Muravyev, Alexander & Pieters, Janneke & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria & Schmidl, Ricarda, 2013. "Youth Unemployment and Vocational Training," Foundations and Trends(R) in Microeconomics, now publishers, vol. 9(1–2), pages 1-157, December.
    27. Böhlmark, Anders, 2008. "Age at immigration and school performance: A siblings analysis using swedish register data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 1366-1387, December.
    28. Gert G. Wagner & Joachim R. Frick & Jürgen Schupp, 2007. "The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) – Scope, Evolution and Enhancements," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 127(1), pages 139-169.
    29. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman, 2009. "The Economics & Psychology of Inequality and Human Development," Working Papers 200905, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    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. Fenoll, Ainhoa Aparicio, 2018. "English proficiency and mathematics test scores of immigrant children in the US," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 102-113.
    2. Dominique Sulzmaier, 2020. "The causal effect of early tracking in German schools on the intergenerational transmission of education," Working Papers 187, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    3. Gorodzeisky, Anastasia & Feniger, Yariv & Ayalon, Hanna, 2023. "Child’s age at migration, high school course-taking and higher education," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    4. Aktaş Koray & Argentin Gianluca & Barbetta Gian Paolo & Colombo Luca V.A. & Barbieri Gianna, 2022. "High School Choices by Immigrant Students in Italy: Evidence from Administrative Data," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 22(3), pages 527-572, July.
    5. Marie C. Hull, 2023. "What divides the first and second generations? Family time of arrival and educational outcomes for immigrant youth," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(3), pages 754-787, January.
    6. Björn NILSSON, 2019. "Education and migration: insights for policymakers," Working Paper 23ca9c54-061a-4d60-967c-f, Agence française de développement.
    7. Sander Gerritsen & Mark Kattenberg & Sonny Kuijpers, 2019. "The impact of age at arrival on education and mental health," CPB Discussion Paper 389.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    8. Nathan I. Hoffmann, 2024. "Strangers in the Homeland? The Academic Performance of U.S.-Born Children of Return Migrants in Mexico," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(3), pages 1-25, June.
    9. Nicole Black & Johannes S. Kunz, 2019. "The Intergenerational Effects of Language Proficiency on Child Health Outcomes," Monash Economics Working Papers 05-19, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    10. Mohammed A. M. Usman & Huseyin Ozdeser & Behiye Çavuşoğlu & Umar Shuaibu Aliyu, 2022. "On the Sustainable Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do Remittances, Human Capital Flight, and Brain Drain Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, February.
    11. Nicole Black & Johannes S. Kunz, 2024. "The Intergenerational Effects of Language Proficiency on Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from Survey- and Census-matched Health Care Records," Papers 2024-11, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University.
    12. Sander Gerritsen & Mark Kattenberg & Sonny Kuijpers, 2019. "The impact of age at arrival on education and mental health," CPB Discussion Paper 389, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    13. Cristina Bratu & Matz Dahlberg & Madhinee Valeyatheepillay, 2021. "Age at Arrival and Residential Integration," CESifo Working Paper Series 9181, CESifo.
    14. repec:grz:wpsses:2021-07 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Thomas Gries & Margarete Redlin & Moonum Zehra, 2022. "Educational Assimilation of First-Generation and Second-Generation Immigrants in Germany," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 815-845, June.

    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. Åslund, Olof & Böhlmark, Anders & Skans, Oskar Nordström, 2015. "Childhood and family experiences and the social integration of young migrants," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 135-144.
    2. Are Skeie Hermansen, 2017. "Age at Arrival and Life Chances Among Childhood Immigrants," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(1), pages 201-229, February.
    3. Bonin, Holger, 2017. "The Potential Economic Benefits of Education of Migrants in the EU," IZA Research Reports 75, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Helena Skyt Nielsen & Beatrice Schindler Rangvid, 2012. "The impact of parents’ years since migration on children’s academic achievement," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-23, December.
    5. Sweetman, A. & van Ours, J.C., 2014. "Immigration : What About the Children and Grandchildren?," Discussion Paper 2014-009, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    6. Marigee Bacolod & Marcos A. Rangel, 2017. "Economic Assimilation and Skill Acquisition: Evidence From the Occupational Sorting of Childhood Immigrants," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(2), pages 571-602, April.
    7. Regina T. Riphahn & Michael Zibrowius, 2013. "Apprenticeship Training and Early Labor Market Outcomes in East and West Germany," Working Papers 136, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    8. Sukanya Basu, 2018. "Age-of-Arrival Effects on the Education of Immigrant Children: A Sibling Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 474-493, September.
    9. Aslund, Olof & Böhlmark, Anders & Nordström Skans, Oskar, 2009. "Age at Migration and Social Integration," IZA Discussion Papers 4263, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Aoki, Yu & Santiago, Lualhati, 2015. "Education, Health and Fertility of UK Immigrants: The Role of English Language Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 9498, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Regina T. Riphahn & Michael Zibrowius, 2015. "Apprenticeship, Vocational Training and Early Labor Market Outcomes - in East and West Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 743, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    12. Casey Warman & Matthew D. Webb & Christopher Worswick, 2019. "Immigrant category of admission and the earnings of adults and children: how far does the apple fall?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 53-112, January.
    13. De Paola, Maria & Brunello, Giorgio, 2016. "Education as a Tool for the Economic Integration of Migrants," IZA Discussion Papers 9836, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Aoki, Yu & Santiago, Lualhati, 2018. "Speak better, do better? Education and health of migrants in the UK," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-17.
    15. Galloway, Taryn Ann & Gjefsen, Hege Marie, 2020. "Assimilation of immigrants: Does earlier school exposure matter?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Marie Connolly & Catherine Haeck & Anne Mei Le Bourdais-Coffey, 2023. "Age at Immigration and the Intergenerational Income Mobility of the 1.5 Generation," Working Papers 23-03, Research Group on Human Capital, University of Quebec in Montreal's School of Management.
    17. Damian Clarke & Gustavo Cortés Méndez & Diego Vergara Sepúlveda, 2020. "Growing together: assessing equity and efficiency in a prenatal health program," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 883-956, July.
    18. Berger, Eva M. & Fehr, Ernst & Hermes, Henning & Schunk, Daniel & Winkel, Kirsten, 2020. "The Impact of Working Memory Training on Children's Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 13338, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. James J. Heckman & Stefano Mosso, 2014. "The Economics of Human Development and Social Mobility," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 689-733, August.
    20. Andreas Georgiadis & Liza Benny & Paul Dornan & Jere Behrman, 2021. "Maternal Undernutrition in Adolescence and Child Human Capital Development Over the Life Course: Evidence from an International Cohort Study," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 88(352), pages 942-968, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:zbw:vfsc16:145882. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfsocea.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.