The long-term integration of refugee children:Swedish experiences after the Yugoslav Wars

Olof Åslund (), Linus Liljeberg () and Sara Roman ()
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Olof Åslund: Uppsala University, Department of Economics, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
Linus Liljeberg: IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden
Sara Roman: IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden

No 2023:17, Working Paper Series from IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy

Abstract: We study the economic and social integration of refugee children. The analysis follows war refugees arriving from former Yugoslavia to Sweden in the early 1990s for up to 25 years. We find strong educational and economic integration, although differing by age at migration and gender. By contrast, segregation is striking in family formation. Those under 7 at migration had grades and high school completion on par with natives. Poor initial school performance among teenage refugees was partly compensated by education at higher ages. By 2019 there was on average full labor market assimilation among women while a small gap remained among men. However, refugees arriving before school start outperformed their native peers. Endogamy was common; even among preschoolers, 60–70 percent had their first child with a partner of Yugoslavian descent. Many of the partners migrated after the refugee had turned 20. Intermarriage is gendered and related to socioeconomic status. Residential and workplace segregation decreased over time but remained pronounced among people without tertiary education.

Keywords: Refugee children; migrants; economic and social integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J15 J18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2023-06-27
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-eur, nep-mig and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2023_017

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