Dual Citizenship Rights: Do they Make More and Richer Citizens?

In the 1990s, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Brazil passed dual citizenship laws granting their expatriates the right to naturalize in the receiving country without losing their nationality of origin. I estimate the effects of these new laws on naturalization rates and labor market outcomes in the United States. Based on data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. censuses, In find that immigrants recently granted dual nationality rights are more likely to naturalize relative to immigrants from other Latin American countries. They also experience relative employment and earnings gains, together with drops in welfare use, suggesting that dual citizenship rights not only increase the propensity to naturalize but may also promote economic assimilation. The effects of dual citizenship on improved economic performance, if mediated through naturalization, are consistent with American citizenship conferring greater economic opportunities.     

More Inclusive States,Less Poverty Among Immigrants? An Examination of Poverty,Citizenship Stratification,and State Immigrant Policies

Over the last 20 years, policymaking related to immigrant populations has increasingly been conducted at the state-level. State immigrant polices may influence immigrant poverty by determining immigrants’ level of access to social, economic, political, and health resources and by shaping the social environment. Further, these immigrant policies may shape the stratification between citizens and noncitizens, potentially contributing to distinct patterns of disparities in poverty by both citizenship and race/ethnicity. To assess the relationship between immigrant policy and socioeconomic stratification of immigrants across citizenship status and race/ethnicity in the U.S., we combined data from the 2014 American Community Survey and a measure of level of inclusion of state immigrant policies. We estimated fixed-effects logistic regressions to test the associations between poverty and the interaction of level of inclusiveness, citizenship, and race/ethnicity, controlling for state- and individual-level characteristics. Results showed that there are significant disparities in poverty by citizenship status and race/ethnicity. Asian/Pacific Islander (API) noncitizens experienced lower levels of poverty in states with higher levels of inclusion. Both Latino and API citizens experienced lower levels of poverty in states with higher versus lower levels of inclusion. Among Latinos, the gap in poverty rates between noncitizens and citizens is larger in more inclusive than less inclusive ones, suggesting that the potential positive impact of more inclusive environments does not necessarily translate to the most vulnerable Latino group. The level of inclusion was not associated with differences among Whites and Blacks. Findings suggest that states with more inclusive immigrant policies may foster environments that advance the economic well-being of API noncitizens, as well as API and Latino citizens.     

The role of visa class in the location choices of immigrants in Australia at the regional and neighbourhood scales

Australia’s pro-immigration policies have played a vital role in national population growth, serving to address what would otherwise be chronic labour shortages and population ageing. While migrants to Australian have shown a clear preference for cities and tend to locate with co-ethnics, variations by visa class—employment, family reunification, and asylum—have yet to be fully explored. This paper aims to identify variations in settlement patterns of immigrants in Australia by visa types and the factors underpinning these choices, paying particular attention to ethnic networks and employment opportunities. We apply a series of negative binomial regressions to aggregate census data linked to visa status. At the suburb level, our results show the importance of the presence of compatriots in shaping the location choices of family migrants, with the exception of skilled and humanitarian immigrants from China, Malaysia and Thailand. At the regional level, skilled migrants, including skilled regional migrants, respond to employment opportunities to a greater extent than family and humanitarian migrants.

     

Citizenship Acquisition of Post-1965 Asian Immigrants

This article examines the citizenship acquisition of major post-1965 Asian immigrant groups including Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Asian Indians, Koreans, and Vietnamese, using the PUMS data from the 1990 U.S. Census and an INS longitudinal data set. The analysis of data reveals a very high average naturalization rate of post-1965 Asian immigrants and a bifurcated pattern in citizenship acquisition among the six Asian immigrant groups. Furthermore, the results of a pooled logistic regression model indicate that the characteristics of Asian immigrants, ethnic communities, and countries of origin largely explain the naturalization of these Asian immigrants. Separate logistic regression models for the six groups further uncover similarities and differences in determinants of naturalization across groups. The findings suggest that in terms of naturalization rates new Asian immigrants are more assimilable than most immigrant groups, including European immigrants, and that in the foreseeable future Asian Americans are likely to become a swing vote at the local and possibly state levels and perhaps in presidential elections under some special circumstances. The findings also point to commonality and diversity in determinants of citizenship acquisition among post-1965 Asian immigrants.     

Attitudes Toward Parenthood,Partnership, and Social Rights for Diverse Families: Evidence From a Pilot Study in Five Countries

Attitudes toward the civil and social citizenship rights of individuals in diverse family forms are underresearched. We use cross-national data from a pilot study among students in Denmark, Spain, Croatia, Italy, and the Netherlands to explore cross-country differences in beliefs about partnership, parenthood, and social rights of same-sex couples vs. heterosexual couples or married vs. cohabiting couples. The results suggest a polarization in students’ attitudes between countries that appear more traditional (i.e., Italy and Croatia) and less traditional (Spain and the Netherlands), where the rights of married heterosexual couples are privileged over other family forms more so than in nontraditional countries. Moreover, equality in social rights is generally more widely accepted than equality in civil rights, particularly in relationship to parenthood rights and in more traditional countries. We discuss the implications of these findings and the implications for further research in this underexplored area of attitudinal research.     

Citizenship Norms in Eastern Europe

Research on Eastern Europe stresses the weakness of its civil society and the lack of political and social involvement, neglecting the question: What do people themselves think it means to be a good citizen? This study looks at citizens’ definitions of good citizenship in Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, using 2002 European Social Survey data. We investigate mean levels of civic mindedness in these countries and perform regression analyses to investigate whether factors traditionally associated with civic and political participation are also correlated with citizenship norms across Eastern Europe. We show that mean levels of civic mindedness differ significantly across the four Eastern European countries. We find some support for theories on civic and political participation when explaining norms of citizenship, but also demonstrate that individual-level characteristics are differently related to citizenship norms across the countries of our study. Hence, our findings show that Eastern Europe is not a monolithic and homogeneous bloc, underscoring the importance of taking the specificities of countries into account.     

Travel and the ‘Freedom of Movement’: Racialised Encounters and Experiences Amongst Ethnic Minority Tourists in the EU

This paper presents a conceptual‐based discussion dealing with social and geo‐political concerns associated with the tourism experiences and travel encounters of ethnic minority citizens living in member‐states of the European Union (EU). Although EU legislation emphasises that its citizens have freedom of movement throughout member‐states, the prevalence of racialised situations transpiring within, across and beyond EU borders suggests that this commitment is socio‐politically ambiguous. The popular hysteria that has developed towards increased immigration from non‐EU countries extends to those minorities who have legal status of entry, residency and/or citizenship – as they too are visibly different from Europe's white majorities. The paper thus reflects on ways in which the 11 September 2001 attacks in America have had a detrimental impact on people's tourism and travel experiences, particularly in instances where individuals have been treated with high levels of suspicion from institutional bodies and ethnic (white) majorities. The work firmly emphasises that racial prejudice, institutional racism and xeno‐racist practices restrict ethnic minority citizens from appreciating cosmopolitan‐based tourism experiences and engaging in congenial exchanges with other European cultures and societies. One of the main contentions asserts that racialised movements limit ethnic minority citizens from achieving full rights to social and (multi)cultural forms of citizenship. The conclusion suggests ways in which researchers ought to respond to the study of tourism and racism within the EU.     

Ethnic identity, majority norms, and the native–immigrant employment gap

Earlier studies do not agree on whether ethnic identity, i.e., immigrants’ attachment to the home country and the host country, can explain lower employment outcomes among immigrants. This study investigates the relationship between employment and ethnic identity and complements the literature by capturing a novel dimension of ethnic identity: openness to majority norms. Reproducing measures from earlier studies, I find that immigrants’ employment outcomes do not systematically associate with their ethnic identity. However, immigrants who share social norms with the majority experience significantly better employment outcomes, particularly first-generation immigrant women. Furthermore, I show that interethnic differentials in majority norms could account for up to 20 % of the explained part of the employment gap between natives and first-generation immigrants. Those results shed more light on the interethnic employment gap and aspects of immigrants’ identity relevant to economic integration.     

Ethnic diversity and well-being

This paper investigates how ethnic diversity, measured by immigrants’ nationalities, influences the well-being of the host country. Using panel data from Germany from 1998 to 2012, we find a positive effect of ethnic diversity on the well-being of German natives. Our finding is robust to alternative definitions of ethnic diversity and to the non-random selection of natives and immigrants into regions. The positive effect of ethnic diversity is stronger for immigrant groups that are culturally and economically closer to Germany. Consistent with this result, we document the existence of two mechanisms explaining the influence of ethnic diversity on well-being: productivity—as captured by immigrants’ skills and assimilation—and social capital—particularly in relation to the creation of a multicultural environment.     

欧洲生育支持政策效果的评估及启示——基于模糊集定性比较的分析

采用组态比较方法中的模糊集定性比较分析,系统性检验了2000—2018年29个欧洲典型国家社会情境和现行生育支持政策的条件组合与生育率变化的关系,试图为我国借鉴欧洲国家生育支持政策提供新的研究思路。通过欧洲各国三类生育支持政策(育儿津贴、生育假期和儿童照料设施供给)与三类社会情境的条件(经济发展水平、性别平等及家庭重视文化)进行必要条件检验,得到五类影响生育率的组态方案。通过将不同社会情境下各国生育支持政策的实施效果与我国国情的比较和讨论,本研究提出,我国生育支持政策的出台要充分考虑地区差异:对于性别较为平等的经济发达地区,大力发展儿童照料设施和有针对性的育儿津贴可以稳定生育率;对于性别平等较差的西部欠发达地区,育儿津贴更能提高生育率;在性别差距较大、重视后代的经济发达地区,较慷慨的生育假期和提供儿童照料设施双管齐下会有助于提升生育水平。     

The new German citizenship law and its impact on German demographics: research notes

The processes of marginalization and inclusion of immigrants vary widely among industrialized welfare states. Models of citizenship, as a mechanism of both inclusion and exclusion, shape, to a large degree, the outcome of these processes. They affect the way immigrant and ethnic groups identify themselves within the mainstream society. This research note discusses whether or not institutional approaches to naturalization developed in the United States apply to the German case in the wake of the German citizenship reform of 1999. It also demonstrates how the introduction of birthright citizenship has caused a dramatic change in such demographic trends as the number of births to immigrants at both the federal and local levels. Berlin will provide the context at the local level for the impact of the citizenship reform on local official statistics.     

Core Self-evaluations as Mediator and Moderator of the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Life Satisfaction

Using data from the European Social Survey, we examine the overall life satisfaction of individuals, focusing on the influence of belonging to an ethnic minority group. Building on the existing literature, we control for immigrant and citizenship statuses and discrimination perceptions as well as several commonly-used socio-demographic variables. Through the use of interaction terms in an ordered probit model, we demonstrate that the magnitude of the negative impact of discrimination perceptions depends on the type of discrimination as well as minority membership status. Similarly, we find that first and second generation immigrants differ in their levels of life satisfaction and also according to whether they consider themselves as an ethnic minority member. Citizenship status turns out to be of secondary relevance since it is found to be a significant factor only in models that exclude the immigration variables. In the presence of the aforementioned control variables, ethnic minority membership is also found not to have a universal stand-alone effect on life satisfaction, but only for individuals with certain attributes as indicated by the interaction terms in the empirical model.     

The gay cousin: learning to accept gay rights

In 1996-97 the author interviewed 73 civic leaders in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on their attitudes toward gay rights. Twelve respondents opposed gay rights, 40 were moderately favorable to gay rights, and 21 were strongly favorable. Almost all favored basic equality rights (education, housing, employment), and only 10 said they had difficulty with gay sexuality. Twenty-seven volunteered a concern with gay "flaunting," but this did not mean that they necessarily opposed gay rights. Respondents had the most difficulty accepting the rights of gays to marry and to adopt children, although almost all of those who opposed gay marriages agreed with the idea of a legal domestic partnership. Most agreed that children should be taught about homosexuality in schools. These 73 civic leaders reflect the rapidly changing attitudes to gay rights in Canada as a whole. Their more favorable attitudes were often a consequence of learning that someone close to them was gay or lesbian. They also responded to changes in religious teaching. Most respondents, including recent immigrants, were influenced by the dominant Canadian values of equality, respect for privacy, and respect for diversity. In general, the process these civic leaders were undergoing was one of humanizing gays, no longer thinking of them as the Other. In their view, human rights for gays did not mean mere formal equality, but rather concern and respect for gays.     

Inclusiveness as Construction of Open Identity: How Social Relationships Affect Attitudes Towards Immigrants in European Societies

Studies of individual and group-level sources of prejudice have contributed to today’s greater understanding of the emergence of prejudice and discriminatory attitudes towards immigrants. Yet, scholars have claimed that future research should investigate institutional and socio-political macro-level factors affecting individuals’ attitudes towards outsiders (Ceobanu and Escandell in Ann Rev Sociol 36:309–328, 2010). To contribute to filling this knowledge gap, this article goes across levels of analysis and theories to provide insights about group-level sources influencing attitudes towards immigrants. These sources are taken into account as both institutional and social factors involved in processes of national identity constructions. To this purpose, this work combines Blumer’s perspective (Pac Sociol Rev 1:3–7, 1958) with both the distinction Weber (Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Tübingen, Mohr, 1922) made between open and closed social relationships and some other theoretical contributions that emerged in the field. The findings of a multilevel analysis confirm that, whereby inclusive socio-political factors are involved in the processes of countries’ identity constructions, individuals show more positive attitudes towards immigrants. In addition, in inclusive countries, a society’s high regard for its own traditions and customs influences individual members to appreciate other cultures and show positive dispositions towards outsiders.     

Religiousness and Fertility among European Muslims

Based on official data on religion, national origin, and other indicators of ethnic origin, Muslim fertility in 13 European countries is higher than that for other women, but in most countries with trend data the differences are diminishing over time. Fertility varies by country of origin of immigrants. Various European survey data show that higher proportions of Muslim women are married and their commitment to traditional family values is greater than among other women. Muslim women are more religious than non‐Muslim women and religiousness is directly associated with fertility. Among Muslim women, religiousness and commitment to family values are equally important for fertility, while for non‐Muslim women religiousness is much less important.     

How institutional context alters social reproduction dynamics: Ethnic track placement patterns in the U.S. and Germany

How does institutional context shape the way family dynamics, especially ethnic background and parental resources, affect track placement? We contrast the track placement patterns of immigrants and ethnic majority students in two countries marked by drastic differences in the social organization of schooling. Drawing on German (GSOEP) and U.S. (NELS) data, we find that, in general, more family resources pull students from lower to higher tracks, but ethnic inequalities in these resources favor the ethnic majority groups in both countries. In addition, institutional context conditions which parental resources shape educational outcomes, and how they do so. We find that the effects of parental ties exacerbate ethnic inequalities between whites and Latinos in the U.S.; whereas in Germany, parents’ community ties play a compensatory role for immigrants, who benefit from interactions with secular and ethno-religious groups. Our findings confirm previous cross-national research, but they also highlight the need to elaborate the relationship between institutional context and ethnically specific reproduction mechanisms within countries.     

The incidence of subminimum pay among native and immigrant workers

This paper econometrically compares the subminimum wage propensities of immigrants and US natives using 1989 microdata. A conventional expectation is that immigrants are more likely to earn subminimum wages because of their lesser education and knowledge of labor rights. However, immigrants also tend to participate full time in the labor market and field studies suggest they provide employers an 'experienced' labor pool. Indeed, our findings indicate that immigrants by age, sex, and race/ethnic group are less likely than natives to receive subminimum wages. These findings imply that the foreign born do not contribute disproportionately to the informal economy.     

International migration: a global challenge

Trends in international migration are presented in this multiregional analysis. Seven of the world's wealthiest countries have about 33% of the world's migrant population, but under 16% of the total world population. Population growth in these countries is substantially affected by the migrant population. The migration challenge is external and internal. The external challenge is to balance the need for foreign labor and the commitment to human rights for those migrants seeking economic opportunity and political freedom. The internal challenge is to assure the social adjustment of immigrants and their children and to integrate them into society as citizens and future leaders. Why people cross national borders and how migration flows are likely to evolve over the next decades are explained. This report also presents some ways that countries can manage migration or reduce the pressures which force people to migrate. It is recommended that receiving nations control immigration by accelerating global economic growth and reducing wars and human rights violations. This report examines the impact of immigration on international trade, aid, and direct intervention policies. Although migration is one of the most important international economic issues, it is not coordinated by an international group. The European experience indicates that it is not easy to secure international cooperation on issues that affect national sovereignty. It is suggested that countries desiring control of their borders should remember that most people never cross national borders to live or work in another country, that 50% of the world's migrants move among developing countries, and that countries can shift from being emigration to immigration countries. The author suggests that sustained reductions in migration pressure are a better alternative than the "quick fixes" that may invite the very much feared mass and unpredictable movements.     

The Subjective Well-Being of Immigrants: Pre- and Post-migration

In recent years, migration studies have increasingly shown that subjective well-being carries considerable weight in immigrant integration. Yet little is known about the subjective well-being of immigrants in their origin country (pre-migration) or its relation to their well-being in the host country. This paper examines the relationship between subjective well-being, both pre- and post-immigration, among North Americans who arrived in Israel during the past two decades. The study combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods. According to our quantitative findings, the labor market performance of North American immigrants in Israel is lower than in their origin countries. Further, we learned from the qualitative analysis that although the immigrants’ positions in the labor market were better in their origin countries, the immigrants perceived their standard of living in Israel to be the same as in their origin country—if not better—due to the low cost of services in Israel. The importance of the immigrant’s satisfaction from the current job in Israel was apparent in the findings of both methods. We also found that the subjective well-being of North American immigrants in Israel is relatively high, and most immigrants did not consider leaving Israel. The subjective well-being of the immigrants in Israel was found to be related to their social networks in their origin country, to their religious immigration motive and to their work satisfaction in Israel. The more supportive the immigrants’ families were of their decision to immigrate, the less the immigrants tended to consider leaving Israel. Immigrants with a religious motivation for immigrating to Israel were less inclined to leave, and the same was true for immigrants who were satisfied with their work in Israel. The qualitative data added important perspective on the immigrants’ social networks, this time in Israel. Interviewees reported having more supportive social networks in Israel, and a greater sense of community, although most of their contacts were within the Anglo community.