The effect of citizenship on the long-term earnings of marginalized immigrants: Quasi-experimental evidence from Switzerland

We provide evidence that citizenship catalyzes the long-term economic integration of immigrants. Despite the relevance of citizenship policy to immigrant integration, we lack a reliable understanding of the economic consequences of acquiring citizenship. To overcome nonrandom selection into naturalization, we exploit the quasi-random assignment of citizenship in Swiss municipalities that held referendums to decide the outcome of individual naturalization applications. Our data combine individual-level referendum results with detailed social security records from the Swiss authorities. This approach allows us to compare the long-term earnings of otherwise similar immigrants who barely won or lost their referendum. We find that winning Swiss citizenship in the referendum increased annual earnings by an average of approximately 5000 U.S. dollars over the subsequent 15 years. This effect is concentrated among more marginalized immigrants.

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The Effect of Citizenship on the Long-Term Earnings of Marginalized Immigrants: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Switzerland

10.31235/osf.io/24qas ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jens Hainmueller ◽

Dominik Hangartner ◽

Dalston Ward

Keyword(s):

Experimental Evidence ◽

Economic Integration ◽

Immigrant Integration ◽

Economic Consequences ◽

Random Assignment ◽

Individual Level ◽

Integration Of Immigrants ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Annual Earnings

We provide evidence that citizenship catalyzes the long-term economic integration of immigrants. Despite the relevance of citizenship policy to immigrant integration, we lack a reliable understanding of the economic consequences of acquiring citizenship. To overcome non-random selection into naturalization, we exploit the quasi-random assignment of citizenship in Swiss municipalities that held referendums to decide the outcome of individual naturalization applications. Our data combines individual-level referendum results with detailed social security records from the Swiss authorities. This allows us to compare the long-term earnings of otherwise similar immigrants who barely won or lost their referendum. We find that winning Swiss citizenship in the referendum increased annual earnings by an average of approximately 5,000 U.S. dollars over the subsequent 15 years. This effect is concentrated among more marginalized immigrants.

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Does Immigration Affect the Long-Term Educational Outcomes of Natives? Quasi-Experimental Evidence

10.3386/w10844 ◽

2004 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Eric Gould ◽

Victor Lavy ◽

M. Daniele Paserman

Keyword(s):

Experimental Evidence ◽

Educational Outcomes ◽

Quasi Experimental

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Catalyst or Crown: Does Naturalization Promote the Long-Term Social Integration of Immigrants?

American Political Science Review ◽

10.1017/s0003055416000745 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 111 (2) ◽

pp. 256-276 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

JENS HAINMUELLER ◽

DOMINIK HANGARTNER ◽

GIUSEPPE PIETRANTUONO

Keyword(s):

Social Integration ◽

Host Country ◽

Causal Effect ◽

Random Assignment ◽

Integration Process ◽

Policy Paradigm ◽

The Social ◽

Integration Of Immigrants ◽

The Impact

We study the impact of naturalization on the long-term social integration of immigrants into the host country society. Despite ongoing debates about citizenship policy, we lack reliable evidence that isolates the causal effect of naturalization from the nonrandom selection into naturalization. We exploit the quasi-random assignment of citizenship in Swiss municipalities that used referendums to decide on naturalization applications of immigrants. Comparing otherwise similar immigrants who narrowly won or lost their naturalization referendums, we find that receiving Swiss citizenship strongly improved long-term social integration. We also find that the integration returns to naturalization are larger for more marginalized immigrant groups and when naturalization occurs earlier, rather than later in the residency period. Overall, our findings support the policy paradigm arguing that naturalization is a catalyst for improving the social integration of immigrants rather than merely the crown on the completed integration process.

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