Migration across developed countries: German immigrants in Sweden and the US

In: International migration: quarterly review, Band 58, Heft 6, S. 171-194

Abstract

AbstractThe present study evaluates the interplay between the effects of host countries' characteristics and self‐selection patterns of immigrants from a highly developed country on their economic assimilation in other developed countries. The focus is on immigrants originated from Germany during 1990–2000 who migrated to Sweden and the US. The results show that almost all German immigrants reached full earnings assimilation with natives of similar observed attributes, and that the assimilation of highly educated Germans was better than that of the less educated. It was also found that the skilled immigrants were compensated for their human capital acquired in Germany. Finally, the better assimilation of German immigrants, especially the highly educated, took place in the US. This finding was probably the result of an interaction between the Germans' pattern of self‐selection and the US context of reception.