Abstract:This study provides an analysis of the effect of migration and commuting on regional wage disparities in Germany. Using the INKAR dataset and the GSOEP from the years 1998 to 2009, dynamic GMM panel estimations are applied to consider dynamics as well as the simultaneity between migration and regional labor market circumstances. To begin with, the influence of migration on relative wage levels is analyzed. The results show a small positive wage effect due to the overall regional migration balance. However, only domestic migration is relevant for analyzing the influence of migration on regional wage disparities. The wage effect due to domestic migration turns out to be smaller and negative. Regions seem to benefit primary from a combination of internal and foreign migration, however effects are small. Assuming that individuals usually move to high-wage regions, the negative wage effect of German migration would trigger an adjustment mechanism of wage disparities. Therefore, a second dynamic GMM panel estimation tests whether an influence of the regional wage levels on migration exists. Results show no statistically significant effects. An adjustment of existing wage disparities due to migration is not likely to occur in Germany in the next few years.
dogenität der Arbeitslosen-Variable in der Migrationsgleichung zu berücksichtigen wird ein bivariates Probitmodell verwendet. Es schätzt die gemeinsame Wahrscheinlichkeit arbeitslos zu sein und umzuziehen um die Arbeitslosigkeit zu beenden. Die Ergebnisse belegen, dass die arbeitsbedingte Umzugswahrscheinlichkeit von Arbeitslosen sehr viel niedriger ist als die von Beschäftigten. Für die Arbeitssuchenden erscheinen materielle und vor allem immaterielle Umzugskosten deutlich höher auszufallen als der resultierende Umzugsnutzen. Die aus diesen Ergebnissen zu ziehenden Forderungen an die Arbeitsmarktpolitik wären die Umzugsanreize für Erwerbslose zu erhöhen, ihnen Vorschläge über entfernte Stellenangebote zu unterbreiten sowie den regionalen Austausch von Jobcentern auszubauen. Schlüsselwörter Interregionale Mobilität • Arbeitslosigkeit • Migration • Deutschland 1 Introduction The situation on the German labor market has changed for the better over the last 8-9 years. Whereas in 2005 4.9 million people were unemployed, the number decreased to 2.9 million in December 2013 (German Federal Employment Agency). Yet, the individual situation of the 3 million unemployed remains unimproved. Individual unemployment is still highly distressing and affects all areas of life. This study focuses on the possibility of ending unemployment by moving to another region for a new occupation. Most people are regionally bound to a particular area; often the family situation makes work-related moving difficult and moving is associated with high costs. However, many individuals and families overcome these obstacles successfully. The question thus arises of whether in Germany the Abstract This paper examines the willingness of the unemployed to migrate in order to exit unemployment. The empirical estimation is based on data from the German Socio Economic Panel (GSOEP) from the years 2001 to 2009. Following a bivariate probit approach, results are obtained estimating the joint probability of being unemployed and to move to account for the endogeneity of the unemployment variable in the migration equation. The findings indicate that the probability of moving to exit unemployment is much lower compared to the work related moving probability of employed people. Material and in particular immaterial migration costs for the unemployed group appear to exceed the benefit of moving. Consequently, labour market policy should increase moving incentives for the unemployed and expand the regional interchange of employment agencies.
To increase labour market participation among migrants, an increase in female labour market participation is important, with wages being a significant incentive. In research on the gender wage gap, the consideration of housework has been a milestone. Gender differences in housework time have always been much greater among migrants than among native-born individuals. Based on data obtained from the German Socio-Economic Panel from 1995 to 2017, this study questioned whether housework affects the wages of migrant full-time workers differently than those of their native-born counterparts. To consider the possible endogeneity of housework in the wage equation, the analysis estimated, in addition to an OLS model, a hybrid model to estimate within effects. Significant negative effects of housework on wages resulted for migrant women and native-born individuals. The effects for migrant men were significantly smaller or insignificant, which could not be explained by threshold effects. The greater amount of time spent on housework by migrant women than by native-born women will in general lead to a larger wage decrease due to housework for migrant women than for native-born women. The results further showed that the observed variables explained very little of the migrants’ gender wage gap, in contrast to the gap of native-born individuals. Human capital returns, including education and work experiences, were much lower for migrant women than for native-born women, whereas differences in housework equally contributed to the explained share of the gap for both groups, indicating the greater relevance of housework for migrants’ wage gap.
Most countries still have a significant gender gap in labor force participation, and this gap is especially large for immigrants. Despite this gap, Germany introduced various forms of home care allowances in the last decade. Parallel to the extension of early child care and the inclusion of a legal claim for it, from 2013 to 2015, a nationwide home care allowance existed for parents who did not use public child care for children aged one or two years. After 2015, home care allowances continued to exist in several German federal states. Some politicians strongly criticized this transfer for allegedly decreasing work incentives, particularly for mothers with lower labor market integration, such as immigrant mothers. Using federal state differentiated data obtained from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we investigate the impact of a home care allowance on the labor market participation of mothers. For both native-born and especially immigrant mothers, the effects are significantly negative. We conclude that a home care allowance has negative effects on the labor force participation of mothers of young children, irrespective of the legal claim for and the extension of public child care.
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