Lifting Barriers to Skill Transferability: Immigrant Integration through Occupational Recognition

Silke Anger, Jacopo Bassetto (jacopo.bassetto2@unibo.it) and Malte Sandner
Additional contact information
Jacopo Bassetto: University of Bologna

No 17444, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: While Western countries worry about labor shortages, their institutional barriers to skill transferability prevent immigrants from fully utilizing foreign qualifications. Combining administrative and survey data in a difference-in-differences design, we show that a German reform, which lifted these barriers for non-EU immigrants, led to a 15 percent increase in the share of immigrants with a recognized foreign qualification. Consequently, non-EU immigrants' employment and wages in licensed occupations (e.g., doctors) increased respectively by 18.6 and 4 percent, narrowing the gaps with EU immigrants. Despite the inflow of non-EU immigrants in these occupations, we find no evidence of crowding out or downward wage pressure for natives.

Keywords: skill transferability; occupational recognition; immigrant integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J24 J31 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 87 pages
Date: 2024-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int, nep-lma, nep-mig and nep-ure
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Related works:
Working Paper: Lifting Barriers to Skill Transferability: Immigrant Integration through Occupational Recognition (2024)
Working Paper: Lifting Barriers to Skill Transferability: Immigrant Integration through Occupational Recognition (2024)
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