Language choice among immigrants in a multi-lingual destination

This paper analyzes the choice of dominant destination language spoken by immigrants in a multi-lingual destination. The empirical analysis is performed for Canada. Immigrants tend to gravitate to the official language that is closer to their mother tongue, that predominates in their region of residence and that has the broader labor market or economy. Bilingualism in the two official languages increases with the level of education in both Quebec and English Canada. French-only speakers among immigrants in Quebec tend to come from Romance language countries, have low levels of schooling, are recent arrivals and immigrated at an older age.     

Hebrew language usage: determinants and effects on earnings among immigrants in Israel

This paper uses the 1983 Census of Israel to analyze Hebrew speaking skills and the effects of Hebrew fluency on the earnings of adult male immigrants. Hebrew fluency increases with a longer duration in Israel, the presence of children in the household, marrying after immigration, living in an area in which a smaller proportion speak one‘s mother tongue, a younger age at migration, a higher level of schooling and varies by country of birth. Earnings increase monotonically with the use of Hebrew. Speaking English as a second language is associated with higher earnings, even when country of origin is held constant. Received: 9 June 1997/Accepted: 6 November 1997     

文化的同化对加拿大老年人居住方式的影响

本文基于加拿大 1996年移民数据 ,利用单因素和多因素Logit模型分析方法 ,试图研究文化因素对老年人居住方式的影响。主要结论如下 :文化因素对老年人居住方式的选择有重要影响 ;文化的同化对移民居住方式的选择有显著作用 ,表现为移民时间越早的移民老年人独立居住的倾向越强 ;文化同化速度的快慢对不同种族来源的移民来说是不同的。该文认为 ,在未来相当长的时间内 ,与子女合住仍然是中国老年人居住方式的主流     

How do immigrants spend their time? The process of assimilation

Sharp differences in time use by nativity emerge when activities are distinguished by incidence and intensity in recent US data. A model with daily fixed costs for assimilating activities predicts that immigrants are less likely than natives to undertake such activities on a given day; but those who do will spend relatively more time on them. Activities such as purchasing, education, and market work conform to the model. Other results suggest that fixed costs for assimilating activities are higher for immigrants with poor English proficiency or who originate in less developed countries. An analysis of comparable Australian data yields similar results.     

Return migration from Canada to Britain

Abstract Statistics of migrants returning from Canada to Britain and re-registering for national insurance purposes are compared with labour force immigrants entering Canada between 1956 and 1965. Short and long-term indices are calculated which suggest that return migration has been increasing since 1960. A sample survey carried out in 1962-63 distinguishes three types of returning migrant: (a) quasi-migrants who originally planned to return to Britain; (b) permanent repatriates who originally intended to settle in Canada but now expect to remain in Britain; (c) transilient migrants who exhibit a high propensity to move backwards and forwards between two or more countries without becoming permanently rooted in anyone. The demographic, economic and social characteristics of the three types are described. A further comparison is made between migrants who plan to settle in Britain, those who intend to come back again to Canada, and those who are uncertain of their future plans or who intend to move on to a third country.     

Modeling Causality Between Financial Deepening and Poverty Reduction in Egypt

This paper explores the determinants of immigration to Portugal. It is the first study to empirically evaluate an extended set of determinants to explain this new phenomenon in Portugal, a highly globalized economy and a 40-year-old democracy. This study finds evidence that the use of Portuguese as the mother tongue and prior Portuguese immigration are the main determinants of current immigration to Portugal from a given country. Depending on which subgroup is considered (refugees, students, or workers), more specific findings also arise. For refugees and foreign workers, human rights violations help explain increased immigration; for foreign students, low per capita income (in the home country) is a significant factor. Dividing the sample into Portuguese speakers and non-Portuguese speakers, we also identified the level of economic development as an important determinant for immigrants from non-lusophone countries. The military situations of the home countries were also important determinants for lusophone immigrants.     

Just Like in Their Home Country? A Multinational Perspective on Living Arrangements of Older Immigrants in the United States

Older immigrants are more likely to share residence with their adult children and other family members than are U.S.-born older adults. Because socioeconomic factors only partially explain these differences and direct measures of cultural preferences are seldom available, the persistently high rates of intergenerational coresidence among the older foreign-born are often interpreted as driven by cultural preferences and/or a lack of assimilation. To challenge this interpretation, this study investigates the extent to which older immigrants’ living arrangements deviate from those of older adults in their home countries. The analysis combines data on immigrants from the 2008–2012 American Community Survey (ACS) with census data from three major immigrant-sending countries: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Vietnam. Despite persistent differences from U.S.-born whites, coresidence in later life is significantly less common than in the sending countries among the older foreign-born who migrated as young adults, and especially among those who migrated as children. The older foreign-born who migrated after age 50, however, are more likely to coreside and less likely to live independently than the older adults in their home countries. The similarity of these patterns across the three immigrant subgroups suggests that the unusually high coresidence among late-life immigrants is driven by U.S. family reunification policy and not simply by cultural influences.     

Muslims in France: identifying a discriminatory equilibrium

We analyze the assimilation patterns of Muslim immigrants in Western countries with a unique identification strategy. Survey and experimental data collected in France in 2009 suggest that Muslims and rooted French are locked in a suboptimal equilibrium whereby (i) rooted French exhibit taste-based discrimination against those they are able to identify as Muslims and (ii) Muslims perceive French institutions as systematically discriminatory against them. This equilibrium is sustained because Muslims, perceiving discrimination as institutionalized, are reluctant to assimilate and rooted French, who are able to identify Muslims as such due to their lower assimilation, reveal their distaste for Muslims.     

Labour-market status and first-time parenthood: the experience of immigrant women in Sweden, 1981-97

This paper investigates the impact of labour-market attachment on first births of foreign-born women in Sweden. The study uses a longitudinal, register-based dataset consisting of the entire population of immigrants from ten nations and a 5-per-cent random sample of natives. The effects of earned income are evident, with increased income levels increasing the probability of becoming a mother for all observed nationalities. The effects of various forms of participation and non-participation in the labour force do not vary greatly between immigrants and the Swedish-born. Among all subgroups, we find a higher propensity to begin childbearing among those who are established in the labour market. Contrary to popular belief, receiving welfare benefits clearly reduces first-birth intensity for immigrants but not for natives. The similarity in patterns across widely different national groups supports the notion that various institutional factors affecting all subgroups are crucial in influencing childbearing behaviour.     

Are immigrants overrepresented in the Australian Social Security System?

This article discusses the statistics commonly used for judging whether immigrants are more or less likely than those born in Australia to receive social security payments. Much previous discussion of this issue has not taken into account the eligibility conditions applying to different payments, and the effects of differences between the age distributions of different birthplace groups. Previous studies have overestimated the level of social security receipt for most overseas-born birthplace groups and underestimated the level of receipt for those born in Australia. The article presents estimates of social security receipt in 1989, correcting for these factors.     

Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging to the Host Country: The Role of Life Satisfaction,Language Proficiency,and Religious Motives

This paper focuses on a significant concept in migration studies: immigrants’ sense of belonging to the host society. Drawing upon the literature of immigration and subjective well-being, we proposed a model in which life satisfaction is a major predictor of immigrants’ sense of belonging, and is explained by background variables including religious affiliation, religious motivation, native language proficiency and ethnic segregation. The study was based on a survey of two groups of highly skilled migrants in Israel; immigrants from France and the Former Soviet Union who moved to Israel in the last two decades. The findings suggest that, as expected, life satisfaction had a significant influence on immigrants’ sense of belonging and served as a mediator variable in the model. Whereas ethnic segregation was not found to be a significant parameter in the model, religious motivation and Hebrew language proficiency were found to be prominent. In light of the literature, we also discuss the importance of religious motivations to immigrants’ subjective well-being, identity, and sense of belonging.

     

Comparing Life Satisfaction of Immigrants and Natives Across Europe: The Role of Social Contacts

Research on immigrants’ assimilation is widespread both in the U.S. and Europe. While it has been extensively studied how immigrants fare compared to natives on socio-economic indicators, few studies have focussed on immigrants’ perception of their position. In this paper we focus on comparing life satisfaction of immigrants and natives across Europe and on the role of social embeddedness. Using data from the first six rounds (2002–2012) of the European Social Survey, a repeated cross-sectional survey, we find that life satisfaction among immigrants is lower than among natives even though differences diminish over generations. For first generation immigrants part of the life satisfaction gap is explained by the lower level of social embeddedness they have compared to natives. We also find that social embeddedness is a key explanatory factor for life satisfaction for both immigrants and natives. For two out of the three indicators of social embeddedness that we consider we however find different patterns of association with life satisfaction for immigrants compared to natives.     

Postimmigration investments in Education: a Study of Immigrants in the Netherlands

We use a unique data source to examine postimmigration investments in education among four immigrant groups in the Netherlands. We derive hypotheses from the Immigrant Human Capital Investment model (IHCI), which argues that immigrants' investments are an outcome of settlement intentions, skill transferability, and opportunity costs. The multinomial and ordered logistic regression analyses show that educational investments are stronger among immigrants with higher premigration education, immigrants from former colonies, immigrants who migrated for family reasons, and immigrants who arrived in periods of high unemployment. These findings generally support the IHCI model.     

Migrant Selection and the Health of U.S. Immigrants From the Former Soviet Union

Few prior studies have investigated the health of U.S. immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU). Utilizing data from the 2000 U.S. census and the 2000–2007 National Health Interview Survey (NIHS), we compare levels of disability of FSU immigrants with U.S.-born whites (ages 50–84). Our findings suggest an “epidemiologic paradox” in that FSU immigrants possess higher levels of education compared with U.S.-born whites, but report considerably higher disability with and without adjustment for education. Nonetheless, FSU immigrants report lower levels of smoking and heavy alcohol use compared with U.S.-born whites. We further investigate disability by period of arrival among FSU immigrants. Changes in Soviet emigration policies conceivably altered the level of health selectivity among émigrés. We find evidence that FSU immigrants who emigrated during a period when a permission to emigrate was hard to obtain (1970–1986) displayed less disability compared with those who emigrated when these restrictions were less stringent (1987–2000). Finally, we compare disability among Russian-born U.S. immigrants with that of those residing in Russia as a direct test of health selectivity. We find that Russian immigrants report lower levels of disability compared with Russians in Russia, suggesting that they are positively selected for health despite their poor health relative to U.S.-born whites.     

Long‐Term Contribution of Immigration to Population Renewal in Canada: A Simulation

We analyze the direct and indirect demographic contribution of immigration to the foreign‐origin composition of the Canadian population according to various projection scenarios over a century, from 2006 to 2106. More specifically, we use Statistics Canada's Demosim microsimulation model to assess the long‐term sensitivity to immigration levels and the frequency of mixed unions of the share of immigrants in Canada and of persons who have at least one ancestor who arrived after 2006. The results of the simulations show that the population renewal process through immigration happens at a fast pace in a high immigration and low fertility country such as Canada. Under the scenarios developed, immigrants who entered after 2006 and their descendants could form the majority of the population by 2058 at the earliest and by 2079 at the latest and could represent between 62 percent and 88 percent in 2106. They also show that mixed unions are a key element of the speed at which the changes are likely to occur in the long run.     

Region of Birth and Disability Among Recent U.S. Immigrants: Evidence from the 2000 Census

This study aimed to test the “healthy immigrant” hypothesis and assess health heterogeneity among newly arrived working-age immigrants (18–64 years) from various regions of origin. Using the 5% sample of the 2000 U.S. Census (PUMS), we found that, compared with their native-born counterparts, immigrants from all regions of the world were less likely to report mental disability and physical disability. Immigrants from selected regions of origin were, however, more likely to report work disability. Significant heterogeneity in disabilities exists among immigrants: Those from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia reported the highest risk of mental and physical disability, and those from East Asia reported the lowest risk of physical disability. Furthermore, Mexican immigrants reported the lowest risk of mental disability, and Canadian immigrants reported the lowest risk of work disability. Socioeconomic status and English proficiency partially explained these differences. The health advantage of immigrants decreased with longer U.S. residence.     

Disability Among Native-born and Foreign-born Blacks in the United States

Using the 5% Public Use Micro Data Sample (PUMS) from the 2000 U.S. census, we examine differences in disability among eight black subgroups distinguished by place of birth and Hispanic ethnicity. We found that all foreign-born subgroups reported lower levels of physical activity limitations and personal care limitations than native-born blacks. Immigrants from Africa reported lowest levels of disability, followed by non-Hispanic immigrants from the Caribbean. Sociodemographic characteristics and timing of immigration explained the differences between these two groups. The foreign-born health advantage was most evident among the least-educated except among immigrants from Europe/Canada, who also reported the highest levels of disability among the foreign-born. Hispanic identification was associated with poorer health among both native-born and foreign-born blacks.     

Dynamics of Spanish-Language Neighborhoods in Chicago and Atlanta: 1990–2000

This study examines and compares how the spatial arrangements of Spanish speakers have changed over time in a traditional immigrant gateway, Chicago, and in an emerging immigrant gateway, Atlanta. Using the 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census data, spatial autocorrelation analysis confirms that Spanish-language neighborhoods continue to be in the city and the suburbs of Chicago. Atlanta’s Spanish-language neighborhoods, on the other hand, are mainly located in the suburbs where major growth took place over the decade. However, Spanish-language neighborhoods in both the city and suburbs of Atlanta and Chicago share similar characteristics: higher percentages of residents who are foreign-born and limited English proficient, and households with low levels of income. While the model of spatial assimilation is still relevant to our understanding of residential patterns among contemporary immigrants and their descendants, the interpretation of findings, including those for new destinations such as Atlanta where large-scale immigration occurred after suburbanization, should place less emphasis on the central city/suburb distinction and suburban homogeneity. The growing diversity in language use among residents necessitates the provision of accessible social services and information.     

Language skills and earnings among legalized aliens

This paper uses the data on males and females from the 1989 Legalized Population Survey (LPS), a sample of aliens granted amnesty under 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, to analyse English language proficiency and earnings. We use a model of English language proficiency that is based on economic incentives, exposure and efficiency variables that measure the costs and benefits of aquiring English language skills. Consistent with the model, in this sample of former illegal aliens, English language proficiency is greater for those with more schooling, who immigrated at a younger age, who have been in the United States longer, with a more continous stay, and who have less access to other origin language speakers where they live. Earnings are higher by about 8% for men and 17% for women who are proficient in both speaking and reading English, compared to those lacking both skills. Received: 13 February 1998/Accepted: 9 July 1998     

Ethnic networks and language proficiency among immigrants

Recent research on the linguistic adjustment of minority-language speaking immigrants in several destinations has found that acquisition of destination language skills is inhibited by living in an area where many others speak the same minority language. This paper uses a unique data set for Australia (1988) that includes a variety of ethnic network variables to analyze the role of the language concentration measure. These ethnic variables, in particular, ethnic press, relatives in Australia, and spouse's origin language, are highly statistically significant. Their inclusion in the equation eliminates the effect of the minority-language concentration variable. The model for analyzing the determinants of English reading and English writing skills in Australia is also shown to be very similar to the model for speaking fluency, including the effect of the ethnic network variables. Received July 18, 1994 / Accepted November 21, 1994