Assessment of educational misclassification in register-based data on Finnish immigrants in Sweden.

AIM: In population registers, information on completed schooling is either missing or misclassified for a large proportion of newly arrived immigrants. It is unclear how quickly the information is updated and whether misclassification, i.e., that the wrong level of education is recorded, biases empirical estimates. METHODS: We use unique linked Swedish and Finnish register data to determine the extent of such mismeasurement. By running logistic regressions on zero earnings, we also illustrate how mismeasurement might influence the estimated effects of education on health or labour market outcomes. RESULTS: We find a considerable bias in estimates based on Swedish records of educational attainment during immigrants' first few years in the country. Misclassification is additionally very common, even when information on educational attainment exists. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that research and policies using recently arrived immigrants' completed schooling as a determinant of socioeconomic integration need to be interpreted with care.

Who Migrates and Who Returns in a Context of Free Mobility? An Analysis of the Reason for Migration, Income and Family Trajectories.

The establishment of free mobility in Europe has lowered barriers to movement and given rise to diversity in migration and integration patterns. However, in part due to data constraints, it is difficult to study migration motives, integration and return migration together. Using linked Finnish and Swedish register data covering the period 1988-2005, we address these processes within the same framework and study how the reason for migration and trajectories at the destination relate to return migration. In particular, we assess the migration motives of 13,948 Finnish migrants in Sweden using pre- and post-migration information. Finland and Sweden have been part of the common Nordic labour market since 1954, which has allowed Nordic citizens to move without barriers between the two countries. We also study how income trajectories and trajectories of family formation differ across the assessed motives, and analyse how return migration risks are shaped by the motive and by trajectories of income and family formation. Results reveal that labour and tied migrants are initially more likely to have family abroad than student migrants. Student migrants instead continue their education and experience a steeper income increase. The income of student migrants eventually catches up and surpasses that of labour migrants. Return migration risks are shaped by trajectories at the destination, but also by the initial migration motive. These findings underline the importance of assessing diversity across migrants to gain a better understanding of how different migrant groups fare in the destination country and how this relates to subsequent moves.

Apprehension and educational outcomes among Hispanic students in the United States: The impact of Secure Communities.

Prior research suggests that disruptive events, such as shocks induced by family instability, neighborhood violence, or relocation, tend to be detrimental for children's educational outcomes, but findings are heterogeneous depending on the type of event. Limited evidence is available on how shocks resulting from immigration enforcement impact educational outcomes among targeted minority groups. This study contributes to the literature by assessing how a policy implementation in the US-Secure Communities-is related to the school district level achievement of Hispanic students. The Secure Communities program is a national level immigration enforcement policy that was rolled out on a county-by-county basis. The program has increased the risk of deportation and led to rising apprehension and insecurity among undocumented migrants and the wider Hispanic community. Using detailed information on the implementation of Secure Communities, data from the Stanford Education Data Archive, and the Current Population Survey, this study estimates dynamic difference in differences exploiting regional variation in the timing of the policy change to assess its impact on educational outcomes. Results show that the activation of Secure Communities is negatively associated with Hispanic students' subsequent English language arts achievement, while white and black students' achievement does not change. Findings further suggest that Hispanic students living in the South, rural areas, and areas with high proportions of likely undocumented migrants are disproportionately impacted by the program's activation. Whereas, Hispanic students in sanctuary jurisdictions, which reduce the likelihood of deportation, are not impacted. These findings indicate that immigration enforcement can have negative consequences for educational and social inequalities in the United States.