Homeownership of immigrants in France: selection effects related to international migration flows

Abstract

We investigate the difference in homeownership rates between natives and first-generation immigrants in France, and how this difference evolves over the 1975-1999 period, by using a large longitudinal dataset. We find that the homeownership gap is large and has increased. Entries into the territory have a large negative effect on the evolution of homeownership rates for immigrants. Although entrants have on average better education than people staying in the territory for the entire period (i.e. stayers), they are younger and thus at an earlier stage in the wealth accumulation process. They are also located in large cities, where the homeownership rate is lower, and the returns to their characteristics are lower than those for stayers. Leavers have a positive effect on the evolution of homeownership rates for immigrants because they have a low access to homeownership and they exit the country. But this effect is only one-third that of entrants. For stayers, we show that returns to characteristics change in favor of immigrants, which is consistent with assimilation theories. However, among stayers who access homeownership, immigrants end up in owned dwellings that are of lesser quality than natives.

The Evolution of Immigrants’ Homeownership in Germany

“…Immigrant entrants have a lower homeownership rate than immigrant stayers who remained in the country over the period under consideration. Common with Borjas (2002) for the US, Gobillon and Solignac (2015) find that the homeownership gap has increased over the considered period in France. This is explained by the fact that the negative effect of entries into the territory due to lower mean age of entrants and their location choices of large cities where homeownership rates are low, is significantly larger than the positive effect of leavers.…”

“…Instead, the author presents evidence that the homeownership gap can largely be explained by the differential location decisions of immigrants and natives and especially by the changing national origin mix of the immigrant population. A similar study is that of Gobillon and Solignac (2015) who investigate the differences in homeownership rates between first-generation migrants and natives in France, and the evolution of the gap over the period from 1975 to 1999. The authors explicitly control for selection effects related to international migration flows by distinguishing between entrants, stayers and leavers.…”

Mobility and the assimilation of immigrants: Variationsin migration patterns of Ukrainians and Vietnamesein the Czech Republic

“…The first two indicators relate to housing conditions of both immigrant populations. Housing quality and homeownership have been repeatedly understood together as an important assimilation/ integration dimension (Rosenbaum and Freidman, 1999;Gobillon and Solignac, 2015). The third indicator relates to households and partnerships formed across national groups.…”

Targeting Policies for Multidimensional Poverty and Social Fragility Relief Among Migrants in Italy, Using F-FOD Analysis

“…To capture the complexity of deprivation (Koutsampelas 2015), beyond purely monetary aspects, poverty status is assessed by adding to income the dimensions of living arrangements, economic aid, and medical treatment renunciation. As for living arrangements, an extensive literature considers homeownership as a factor of economic success and a marker of well-being (Bárcena-Martìn and Pérez-Moreno 2016; Constant et al 2009;Davidov and Weick 2011;Gobillon and Solignac 2015;Myers and Lee 1998). For migrants, in particular, homeownership is an important step toward a definitive settlement in the host country, reflecting the will and the commitment to stay (Constant et al 2009; Davidov and Weick 2011; Rimoldi and di Belgiojoso 2016); on the contrary, precarious accommodation and shared dwelling, often overcrowded, correspond to certain poverty status (Diana and Strozza 2014;Robinson et al 2007).…”