Intergenerational mobility and self-selection on unobserved skills: New evidence

Abstract

This study proposes a novel way to examine self-selection on unobserved skills and applies it to a sample of young males seeking asylum in 2015/2016 in Germany. First, the degree of intergenerational mobility of these refugees is assessed, specifically their educational improvement in comparison to their parents’ level of education. Next, the estimates are compared with the level of educational mobility of similar-aged males in the refugees’ regions of origin. The idea is that this difference indicates the pattern of self-selection on unobserved skills such as grit and motivation. Our findings hint at positive selection on such unobserved skills among these young male refugees.

Can New-Type Urbanization Construction Narrow the Urban–Rural Income Gap? Evidence from China

“…The laborers can also gain higher wages by entering the most productive positions [52]. Hebsaker et al (2021) also argued that individuals with better abilities are more likely to find jobs that match their knowledge and abilities, obtain higher wages, and thus narrow the URIG [53].…”

Recent refugees’ educational selectivity and its role for their children’s education and language competencies in Germany

“…Combining destination-and origin-specific data sources, analyses also suggest that the decision to seek refuge in Europe is associated with significantly higher educational levels (Aksoy and Poutvaara, 2021). In an extension to these studies, Hebsaker, Neidhöfer, and Pfeiffer (2021) show that recent refugees in Germany display a higher degree of intergenerational mobility than the reference population in the place of origin; that is, the improvement in years of education compared to their parents' education is greater among refugees than among the total population. While these researchers' findings tend to point in the same direction, they disagree on potential explanations.…”