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Regional Disparities in Employment of High-Skilled Foreigners – Determinants and Options for Labour Migration Policy in Germany

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Abstract

We investigate the regional disparities in high-skilled foreign employment in Germany. The importance of different factors that influence highly qualified migrants’ decision to migrate to specific regions and especially the role of labour migration policy is analysed. Our results show that labour market variables and the supply of tertiary education are important for the location choice. Based on these empirical results, we discuss options of decentralised labour migration policy in Germany.

Résumé

Nous nous penchons sur les disparités régionales dans les emplois étrangers à niveau élevé de compétences en Allemagne. Nous analysons, d’une part, l’importance de divers facteurs qui influencent la décision des immigrants hautement spécialisés de migrer vers des régions spécifiques et, d’autre part, la politique relative à la migration de travail. Nos résultats indiquent que le choix de lieu est fortement influencé par les variables du marché du travail et par la disponibilité de l’enseignement de troisième niveau. En nous appuyant sur ces résultats, nous discutons les possibilités d’une politique décentralisée en matière de migration de travail en Allemagne.

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Notes

  1. The arrangements mainly arose from the fear of mass immigration from the new member states, especially in the E.U.15 countries with borders to these countries. Starting in 2004, the transitional period is divided into three phases (“2 plus 3 plus 2” formula). In 2006, Germany decided to maintain restrictive measures until 2009. If justified, these can be prolonged until 2011 after which free movement must be guaranteed. This can, however, lead to highly qualified citizens from the new E.U. member states to decide to immigrate to one of the E.U.15 countries which have not placed any labour-market restrictions on the movement of citizens of the new E.U. members.

  2. Although the FEA operates both on the national as well as the regional level, the decision whether there are any labour-market aspects which prevent an applicant from obtaining a work permit are made at the regional level after having analysed the local labour-market conditions.

  3. This is especially so in Germany where the low-skilled are far more likely to be out of a job. Almost 25% of the labour force with no formal vocational qualification is typically searching for a job. In contrast, there is almost full employment among workers with a university degree (unemployment rate 2004, 4%); see Reinberg and Hummel (2005).

  4. However, Liebig and Souza-Poza (2005) argue that perhaps ethnic ties matter less for the highly skilled than for lower skilled migrants, since qualified foreigners might be less dependent on the services that ethnic networks provide.

  5. Hence, civil servants and self-employed are not recorded in the employment statistic.

  6. The definition of functional regions is provided by the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR). For more detailed information on the commuting criteria used to define the regions, see http://www.bbr.bund.de/.

  7. According to recent estimates of the Federal Statistical Office, almost 20% of the population in Germany has a migration background. See Statistisches Bundesamt (2006).

  8. The terms of naturalisation are fixed in the German law on citizenship (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz), see http://www.bundesregierung.de/Webs/Breg/DE/Bundesregierung/BeauftragtefuerIntegration/Staatsangehoerigkeitsrecht/staatsangehoerigkeitsrecht.html.

  9. Table 3 in the Appendix list the variables we use.

  10. In the industrial sector, the only branch with a relatively high share of foreign high-skilled is the manufacture of electrical and optical equipment. This is in line with evidence provided by Bauer and Kunze (2004). They conclude that firms without foreign high-skilled employees are more likely to be found in manufacturing and financial services.

  11. The correlation coefficient of the shares of E.U. 15 and third-country nationals in high-skilled employment is 0.73. The correlation of the shares of these groups with the percentages of E.U. 10 workers is only 0.04 (E.U. 15) and 0.12 (third-country nationals).

  12. http://fhh.hamburg.de/stadt/Aktuell/pressemeldungen/2005/dezember/20/2005-12-20-bwa-welcome.html, 2006/10/12

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Andrea Stöckmann and Julia Kowalewski for excellent research assistance and the participants of the workshop “Decentralised Migration Policy in Europe” of the IMISCOE Network of Excellence; Edinburgh for their comments.

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Correspondence to Carola Burkert.

Appendix

Appendix

Tables 3 and 4

Table 3 Regression analysis – variables
Table 4 Summary statistics

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Burkert, C., Niebuhr, A. & Wapler, R. Regional Disparities in Employment of High-Skilled Foreigners – Determinants and Options for Labour Migration Policy in Germany. Int. Migration & Integration 9, 383–400 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-008-0071-y

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