Integration as a catalyst for assimilation

Oded Stark and Marcin Jakubek

No 59, University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics from University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics

Abstract: We draw a distinction between the social integration and economic assimilation of migrants, and study an interaction between the two. We define social integration as blending into the host country's society, and economic assimilation as acquisition of human capital that is specific to the host country's labor market. We show that a non-integrated migrant finds it optimal to acquire a relatively limited quantity of human capital; with fellow migrants constituting his only comparison group, a non-integrated migrant does not have a relative deprivation-based incentive to close the income gap with the natives. However, when a migrant is made to integrate, his social proximity to the natives exposes him to relative deprivation, which in turn prompts him to form more destination-specific human capital in order to increase his earnings and narrow the income gap with the natives. In this way, social integration becomes a catalyst for economic assimilation.

Keywords: Assimilation; Social proximity; Interpersonal comparisons; Relative deprivation; Human capital formation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 F22 J15 J24 J61 O15 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-hrm, nep-mig and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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Journal Article: Integration as a catalyst for assimilation (2013)
Working Paper: Integration as a catalyst for assimilation (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:tuewef:59

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