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How Labor Migrants Fare pp 73–95Cite as

Self-selection, earnings, and out-migration: A longitudinal study of immigrants to Germany

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Part of the book series: Population Economics ((POPULATION))

Abstract

In this paper we examine the process of out-migration and investigate whether cross-sectional earnings assimilation results suffer from selection bias due to out-migration. Our 14 year longitudinal study reveals that emigrants are negatively selected with respect to occupational prestige and to stable full time employment. Our results show no selectivity with respect to human capital or gender. The likelihood of return migration is strongly determined by the range and nature of social attachments to Germany and origin countries. It is also the highest during the first five years since arrival, and grows higher toward retirement. Selective emigration, however, does not appear to distort cross-sectional estimates of earnings assimilation in a relevant way.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Studies Center University of Pennsylvania, Locust Walk 3718, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Amelie Constant

  2. IZA, Germany

    Amelie Constant

  3. Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Douglas S. Massey

Authors
  1. Amelie Constant
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  2. Douglas S. Massey
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit (IZA), Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 7-9, 53113, Bonn, Germany

    Klaus F. Zimmermann

  2. Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Locust Walk 3718, 19104, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Amelie Constant

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© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Constant, A., Massey, D.S. (2004). Self-selection, earnings, and out-migration: A longitudinal study of immigrants to Germany. In: Zimmermann, K.F., Constant, A. (eds) How Labor Migrants Fare. Population Economics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24753-1_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24753-1_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-53448-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-24753-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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