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on Microeconomic European Issues |
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Issue of 2015‒08‒30
twenty-two papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Dominique Meurs; Patrick A. Puhani; Friederike von Haaren |
| Abstract: | We document the educational integration of immigrant children with a focus on the link between family size and educational decisions and distinguishing particularly between first- and second-generation immigrants and between source country groups. First, for immigrant adolescents, we show family-size adjusted convergence to almost native levels of higher education track attendance from the first to the second generation of immigrants. Second, we find that reduced fertility is associated with higher educational outcomes for immigrant children, possibly through a quantity-quality trade-off. Third, we show that between one third and the complete difference in family-size adjusted educational outcomes between immigrants from different source countries or immigrant generations can be explained by parental background. This latter holds true for various immigrant groups in both France and Germany, two major European economies with distinct immigration histories. |
| Keywords: | migration, integration, quantity-quality trade-off, decomposition |
| JEL: | J13 J15 J24 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp778&r=all |
| By: | Stefania Ottone; Ferruccio Ponzano; Giulia Andrighetto |
| Abstract: | In this paper we study how people from different European countries would react, in terms of tax compliance, to institutional changes. We choose an experimental setting and we focus on two features of the tax system – efficiency and tax rate. We develop our analysis in three countries characterized by different systems: Italy, Sweden, UK. The main finding is that participants from different countries react with the same intensity to efficiency changes but not to increases in the tax rate. In all countries tax compliance decreases as tax rate increases, but the reaction is stronger in Italy and softer in UK. Policy implications – mostly focused on fiscal harmonization - follow. |
| Keywords: | tax compliance, fiscal harmonization, cross-country comparison, efficiency, tax rate |
| JEL: | C9 D31 H26 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:307&r=all |
| By: | Rastrigina, Olga; Leventi, Chrysa; Sutherland, Holly |
| Abstract: | The at-risk-of-poverty rate is one of the three indicators used for monitoring progress towards the Europe 2020 poverty and social exclusion reduction target. Timeliness of this indicator is crucial for monitoring of the social situation and of the effectiveness of tax and benefit policies. However, partly due to the complexity of EU-SILC data collection, estimates of the number of people at risk of poverty are published with a significant delay. This paper extends and updates previous work on estimating (‘nowcasting’) indicators of poverty risk using the tax-benefit microsimulation model EUROMOD. The model’s routines are enhanced with additional adjustments to the EU-SILC based input data in order to capture changes in the employment characteristics of the population since the data were collected. The nowcasting method is applied to seventeen EU Member States. AROP rates are estimated up to 2014 for ten countries and 2013 for the remaining seven countries. The performance of the method is assessed by comparing the predictions with actual EU-SILC indicators for the years for which the latter are available. |
| Date: | 2015–08–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:emodwp:em12-15&r=all |
| By: | Angelini, V.;; Mierau, J. O.; |
| Abstract: | We study the causal impact of teenage motherhood on late-life health outcomes, using a retrospective survey of almost 12,000 women from 13 European countries containing detailed information on early-life circumstances. We find that, compared to other women, teenage mothers experience substantially lower self-reported latelife health and are more likely to display depressive symptoms. This effect is robust to controlling for early-life factors, both parametrically and through propensity score matching, and is unlikely to be driven by selection on unobservables. Studying potential transmission mechanisms by which teenage motherhood translates into adverse late-life health highlights the importance of life-cycle socio-economic conditions and societal values. |
| Keywords: | teenage motherhood; self-reported health; depression; retrospective data; Europe; |
| JEL: | I31 J13 J14 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:hectdg:15/09&r=all |
| By: | Marianne Frank Hansen (Danish Rational Economic Agents Model, DREAM); Marie Louise Schultz-Nielsen (Rockwool Foundation Research Unit and IZA); Torben Tranæs (Rockwool Foundation Research Unit and IZA) |
| Abstract: | All over Europe, ageing populations threaten nations’ financial sustainability. In this paper we examine the potential of immigration to strengthen financial sustainability. We look at a particularly challenging case, namely that of Denmark, which has extensive tax-financed welfare programmes that provide a high social safety net. The analysis is based on a forecast for the entire Danish economy made using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model with overlapping generations. Net contributions to the public purse are presented both as cross-sectional figures for a long time horizon and as average individual life-cycle contributions. The main conclusion is that immigrants from richer countries have a positive fiscal impact, while immigrants from poorer countries have a large negative one. The negative effect is caused by both a weak labour market performance and early retirement in combination with the universal Danish welfare schemes. |
| Keywords: | immigration, public finances, forecasting, denmark |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dra:wpaper:201501&r=all |
| By: | Bräutigam, Rainer; Spengel, Christoph; Streif, Frank |
| Abstract: | The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has become an influential player in the field of direct taxation in the European Union in the past twenty years. However, it is unclear whether the ECJ's decisions actually increase tax neutrality and therefore contribute to the achievement of an internal market as stipulated by the European treaties or not. In 2006, the ECJ limited the applicability of specific tax rules in Europe that are intended to prohibit the excessive use of low-tax countries. Our counterfactual scenarios show that this restriction of so-called controlled foreign company (CFC) rules and the related emergence of IP boxes cast doubt on the positive effects the ECJ is assumed to have. Additionally, we show that the abolishment of IP boxes would strengthen tax neutrality in Europe. Overall, further research is needed to relate and harmonise economic and legal concepts of tax neutrality. |
| Keywords: | European Court of Justice,Tax Neutrality,Effective Tax Rates,Controlled Foreign Company Rules,Intellectual Property Boxes |
| JEL: | H21 K10 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:15055&r=all |
| By: | Sarah Dahmann (German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates two mechanisms through which education may affect cognitive skills in adolescence: the role of instructional quantity and the timing of instruction with respect to age. To identify causal effects, I exploit a school reform carried out at the state level in Germany as a quasi-natural experiment: between 2001 and 2007, the academictrack high school (Gymnasium) was reduced by one year in most of Germany's federal states, leaving the overall curriculum unchanged. To investigate the impact of this educational change on students' cognitive abilities, I conduct two separate analyses: first, I exploit the variation in the curriculum taught to same-aged students at academictrack high school over time and across states to identify the effect of the increase in class hours on students' crystallized and fluid intelligence scores. Using rich data on seventeen year-old adolescents from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study, the estimates show that fluid intelligence remained unaffected, while crystallized intelligence improved for male students. Second, I compare students' competences in their final year of high school using data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). The results suggest that students affected by the reform catch up with their non-affected counterparts in terms of their competences by the time of graduation. However, they do not provide any evidence for the timing of instruction to matter in cognitive skill formation. Overall, secondary education therefore seems to impact students' cognitive skills in adolescence especially through instructional time and not so much through agedistinct timing of instruction. |
| Keywords: | Cognitive Skills, Crystallized Intelligence, Fluid Intelligence, Skill Formation, Education, High School Reform |
| JEL: | I21 I28 J24 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:duh:wpaper:1504&r=all |
| By: | Daouli, Joan; Demoussis, Michael; Giannakopoulos, Nicholas; Lambropoulou, Nikolitsa |
| Abstract: | We investigate the unemployment inflows and outflows using micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey (1998-2013). Focusing on the post-2008 recessionary period, aggregate unemployment decompositions show that both, inflow and outflow rates affect unemployment variations. In particular, early in the recession the inflow rate dominates while later the outflow rate takes over. These findings remain unaltered when unemployment persistence and low transition rates are taken into account. Furthermore, applying multinomial regression techniques we find that the ins and outs of unemployment vary with individual-specific heterogeneity (gender, age, education, etc.). This heterogeneity however exhibits a differentiated impact in the pre- and post-2008 periods. Overall, the design of an effective employment policy in Greece needs to take into consideration the exceptionally low job finding rate (10%) and its composition in the ongoing labour market crisis. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment, worker flows, transition probabilities, unemployment decomposition |
| JEL: | C5 C50 E32 J6 |
| Date: | 2015–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66299&r=all |
| By: | Zapf, Ines (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This study brings together results of the establishment and the individual level to get a better understanding of the use of working-time accounts in Germany. Using data from the Establishment Panel we first show that industrial relations factors, employment-contract characteristics and individual characteristics determine working-time accounts' use in establishments. Second, we provide the first analysis concerning the determinants of working-time accounts' use among employees and the employees' access to working-time accounts in establishments using working-time accounts. Using data from the German Socio Economic Panel we show that qualified employees more often have access to working-time accounts. Using linked-employer-employee data we show that in establishments using working-time accounts female employees, part-time employees and employees with fixed-term contracts are not disadvantaged regarding the access to working-time accounts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Arbeitszeitkonto, IAB-Betriebspanel, Arbeitszeitflexibilität, Beschäftigungsform, geschlechtsspezifische Faktoren, Personalpolitik, qualifikationsspezifische Faktoren, Teilzeitarbeitnehmer, Betriebsgröße, Wirtschaftszweige |
| JEL: | J51 J81 |
| Date: | 2015–08–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201523&r=all |
| By: | Wang, Jinxian; Van Vliet, Olaf; Goudswaard, Kees |
| Abstract: | A number of studies suggest that the Europeanization process has a profound impact on national labour market policies, but fairly little research has been devoted to the development of social assistance benefit schemes across countries and over time. Relying on two new indicators, benefit levels and replacement rates, we examine the impact of the Lisbon Strategy on national social assistance policies. We find no robust effects for the first years of the Lisbon Strategy. However, after its re-launch in 2005, the Lisbon Strategy has significantly contributed to increases of national social assistance benefit levels. In addition to the Lisbon Strategy, domestic political, institutional and several economic factors also have a significant impact on social assistance benefits. |
| Keywords: | social assistance benefit replacement rates, open method of coordination, Lisbon Strategy, Europeanization, welfare state reform |
| JEL: | H53 H55 I31 I38 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:66147&r=all |
| By: | Miravete, Eugenio J; Moral Rincón, Maria J; Thurk, Jeff |
| Abstract: | Spurred by Volkswagen's introduction of the TDI diesel engine in 1989, market penetration of diesel cars in Europe increased from 10% in 1990 to over 50% in 2000. Using Spanish automobile registration data, we estimate an equilibrium discrete choice, oligopoly model of horizontally differentiated products. We find that changing product characteristics and the increasing popularity of diesels leads to correlation between observed and unobserved (to the researcher) product characteristics, an aspect we allow for in the estimation. Despite widespread imitation by its rivals, Volkswagen was able to capture 32% of the potential innovation rents and diesels accounted for approximately 60% of the firm's profits. Moreover, diesels amounted to an important competitive advantage for European auto makers over foreign imports. We provide evidence that the greenhouse emissions policy enacted by European regulators, and not preferential fuel taxes, enabled the adoption of diesels. In so doing, this non-tariff policy was equivalent to a 20% import tariff; effectively cutting imports in half. |
| Keywords: | diesel cars; emission standards; import tariff equivalence; innovation rents |
| JEL: | F13 L62 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10783&r=all |
| By: | Florent Bresson (CERDI, Université d’Auvergne and CNRS, France); Jean-Yves Duclos (CIRPEE, Université Laval and FERDI, Canada); Flaviana Palmisano (Université du Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | A long-lasting scientific and policy debate queries the impact of growth on distribution. A specific branch of the micro-oriented literature, known as ‘pro-poor growth’, seeks in particular to understand the impact of growth on poverty. Much of that literature supposes that the distributional impact should be measured in an anonymous fashion. The income dynamics and mobility impacts of growth are thus ignored. The paper extends this framework in two important manners. First, the paper uses an ‘intertemporal pro-poorness’ formulation that accounts separately for anonymous and mobility growth impacts. Second, the paper’s treatment of mobility encompasses both the benefit of “mobility as equalizer” and the variability cost of poverty transiency. Several decompositions are proposed to measure the importance of each of these impacts of growth on the pro-poorness of distributional changes. The framework is applied to panel data on 23 European countries drawn from the ‘European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions’ (EU-SILC) survey. |
| Keywords: | pro-poorness, income mobility, growth, poverty dynamics. |
| JEL: | D31 D63 I32 |
| Date: | 2015–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2015-368&r=all |
| By: | David (David Patrick) Madden; Michael Savage |
| Abstract: | Social marginal welfare weights play an important role in areas of applied public policy analysis such as tax reform. These weights reflect the values of the social planner, or equivalently the underlying social welfare function. A number of recent papers have questioned the "default" Utilitarian-based approach used to derive these weights, and have suggested potential alternatives. However, there are few examples applying these alternative weighting schemes to traditional, nationally representative, datasets, and in particular, few comparisons of how these alternative weighting schemes would affect the distribution of the welfare effects of a specific tax reform in comparison to the Utilitarian-based approach. This paper aims to fill that gap. Using the nationally representative 2009/10 Irish Household Budget Survey, we apply a range of alternatives to Utilitarianism in determining the distribution of social marginal welfare weights, and compare these distributions to that arising from the traditional Utilitarian approach. The alternative weighting schemes we analyse are based upon: the principles of Equal Sacrifice, poverty alleviation, government self-interest and the redistribution of "luck" income. The distribution of welfare weights arising from these approaches are found to differ appreciably from the distribution based upon Utilitarian weights. A simple indirect tax reform model is estimated and applied to the different distributions of welfare weights to investigate the sensitivity of tax reform recommendations to these distributions. Given the importance of social marginal welfare weights in areas of public policy analysis such as optimal labour and commodity tax design, and tax reform evaluation, we believe this detailed examination of the alternatives to Utilitarianism, and their application to a household budget survey dataset, is an important addition to the literature. |
| Keywords: | Generalised welfare weight; Tax reform; Inequality |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201502&r=all |
| By: | Klaffke, Martin |
| Abstract: | Germany is undergoing a dramatic demographic change that requires its organizations to make workforce talent of all ages a strategic priority. Practitioners in Germany focus largely on Generation Y employees, because this young employee cohort expresses new and different work-related values. However, diverse attitudes and behaviours of employees of different age groups can potenÂtially lead to conflict and have an overall negative impact on orgaÂnizational performance. Given US labour legislation and media pressure, managing workforce diversity has been on the agenda of U.S. organizations for many years. Consequently, it can be assumed that there are areas in which German organizations can learn best practices from the U.S. experience. Although data collected from Silicon Valley organizations suggest that taking specific action for managing the multi-generational workforce is currently not a pressing issue in the tech industry, setting up innovative workplaces is an action field in which Germany can learn from its U.S. counterparts. |
| Keywords: | Business, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Germany, Demographics, Diversity, Generation Management, Silicon Valley |
| Date: | 2015–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:bineur:qt1x9831v3&r=all |
| By: | Bjarni G. Einarsson |
| Abstract: | This paper presents new data on Icelandic labour market flows between employment, unemployment, and inactivity, constructed from the microdata in Statistics Iceland’s Labour Force Survey (LFS). An analysis of the contribution of the transition rates to the dynamics of unemployment is then performed. Assuming a fixed labour force yields results comparable to previous estimates in Iceland, with a third of the variation in steady-state unemployment explained by the job finding rate, a significant departure from what is found in Anglo-Saxon, continental European, and Nordic economies. Taking account of movements in and out of the labour force has a significant effect on contributions of transition rates to variations in steady-state unemployment, with inactivity transitions accounting for roughly a third of the variability in steady-state unemployment and a dead-even split of the remaining two-thirds between the employment-unemployment and unemployment-employment transition rates. This contribution of inactivity transitions is comparable to that in the UK, US, and Spain. The background information available in the LFS indicates that some heterogeneity exists in the contributions by gender, age, and education, although not by location. The participation margin is thus an important source of variation in unemployment and needs to be accounted for to fully understand the drivers of Icelandic labour market fluctuations. Furthermore, ignoring transitions in and out of the labour force generates misleading results on the relative importance of the transition rates between employment and unemployment states in Iceland. |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ice:wpaper:wp69&r=all |
| By: | Martin Halla; Susanne Pech; Martina Zweimüller |
| Abstract: | Social insurance programs typically comprise sick leave insurance. An important policy parameter is how the cost of sick leave are shared between workers, firms, and the social security system. We show that this sharing rule affects not only absence behavior, but also workers’ subsequent health. To inform our empirical analysis we propose a simple model, where workers’ absence decision is taken conditional on the sharing rule, health, and a dismissal probability. Our empirical analysis is based on high-quality administrative data sources from Austria. Identification is guaranteed by idiosyncratic variation in the sharing rule (caused by different policy reforms and sharp discontinuities at certain tenure levels and firm sizes). An increase in either the workers’ or the firms’ cost share (both at the public expense) decrease the number of sick leave days. Variations in the workers’ cost are quantitatively more important (by a factor of about two). Policy-induced variation in sick leave has a significant effect on subsequent health (care cost). The average worker in our sample is in the domain of presenteeism, i. e. an increase in sick leave (due to reductions in the workers’ or the firms’ cost share) would reduce health care cost. |
| Keywords: | Statutory sick-pay regulations, sick leave, presenteeism, absenteeism, moral hazard, health care cost. |
| JEL: | I18 J22 J38 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:cdlwps:wp1504&r=all |
| By: | Nessa Winston (School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice, University College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | Much of the literature on sustainable communities and compact cities calls for higher density housing including multifamily dwellings. Some case studies suggest problems with such dwellings. However, rigorous comparative research on this topic has not been conducted to date. This paper draws on a high quality, comparative dataset, the European Social Survey, to analyse a) the quality of multifamily dwellings in European urban areas, b) the characteristics of residents of these dwellings, c) their life satisfaction compared with those living in detached housing and d) the relative importance of built form in explaining life satisfaction. One of the main findings from the multivariate analyses is that built form, including residing in multifamily housing, is not a statistically significant predictor of life satisfaction when you control for standard predictors of life satisfaction (e.g. health, employment and income) and housing and neighbourhood quality. |
| Keywords: | Quality of life, built form, housing density, life satisfaction, compact cities |
| Date: | 2015–08–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201515&r=all |
| By: | Brunello, Giorgio (University of Padova); Rocco, Lorenzo (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | Several commentators have argued that vocational education provides a smoother school to work transition than academic education. In the long - run, however, the skills it provides depreciate faster and individuals with this type of education are less capable of adapting to technical change. Because of this, its short – term advantages trade off with expected long-term disadvantages in terms of employment, wages or both. Using two UK cohort studies, that allow us to follow individuals for at least 16 years in the labour market, we investigate whether this view has empirical support. For employment, our results indicate that the initial advantage associated to vocational education declines over time, without turning however into a disadvantage at later ages. For real net wages, the picture is more nuanced, with results that vary by cohort and educational level. Overall, our evidence suggests that vocational education is associated to lower expected long-term utility only for the younger cohort with higher (post-secondary) education. We further distinguish between dominant and non-dominant vocational education to account for the different bundles of skills held by individuals, and find that those with a more balanced bundle tend to have higher expected long-term earnings. |
| Keywords: | vocational, academic education, UK |
| JEL: | J31 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9275&r=all |
| By: | Berg, Peter B. (Michigan State University); Hamman, Mary K. (University of Wisconsin, La Crosse); Piszczek, Matthew (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh); Ruhm, Christopher J. (University of Virginia) |
| Abstract: | In 1996, Germany introduced the Altersteilzeit (ATZ) law, which encouraged longer working lives through partial retirement incentives. Using matched pension system and establishment survey data, we estimate changes in part-time employment and retirement after ATZ. We find the policy induced growth in part-time work for men and extended men's expected duration of employment by 1.8 years. As the policy evolved to include an abrupt retirement option, the worklife gain for men fell to 1.2 years. Among women, part-time employment grew less and employment duration changed little initially but later declined by 0.2 years when abrupt retirement became available. |
| Keywords: | partial retirement, Germany |
| JEL: | J26 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9266&r=all |
| By: | Peter van der Zwan (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands); Jolanda Hessels (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands); Cornelius A. Rietveld (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | We investigate how a transition from paid employment to self-employment in the labor market influences life satisfaction. Furthermore, we consider the dynamics of work and leisure satisfaction because the balance between work and leisure is an important element of life satisfaction. Fixed-effects regressions using German Socio-Economic Panel data (1984-2012) reveal that switching to self-employment benefits life and work satisfaction. The effects on life satisfaction are weak and temporary, but they are pronounced and relatively persistent for work satisfaction. However, the gain in work satisfaction is outweighed by a decrease in leisure satisfaction, thus placing work-life balance under severe pressure. |
| Keywords: | Self-employment; Entrepreneurship; Life satisfaction; Work satisfaction; Work-life balance |
| JEL: | I31 J24 J28 J31 L26 |
| Date: | 2015–08–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20150099&r=all |
| By: | Irene Brunetti; Davide Fiaschi |
| Abstract: | The paper proposes a novel methodology based on a non-parametric method to estimate intragenerational income mobility. We apply it to the analysis of mobility of a sample of Italian individuals (between 16 and 65 years old) from the Survey on Household Income and Wealth (SHIW) by the Bank of Italy in the period 1987-2010. First, the linear specification of the Markovian model is estimated removing the assumption of no serial correlation in the error term suggesting a low level of income mobility. Second, a non-linear specification of Markovian model is estimated providing both "local" and global measures of income mobility. Income mobility appears to be low; in particular it reaches a minimum in the middle of income distribution and maximum values at the extreme bounds, with an income elasticity ranging from 0.4 to 0.8 in the relevant range of income (0.5-2). Moreover, from 1987-1998 to 2000-2010 income mobility has increased over time, in particular in the middle of distribution. |
| Keywords: | Relative Income Mobility, Mobility Indexes, Markov Chain, Non-parametric Estimate. |
| JEL: | C14 J60 J62 |
| Date: | 2015–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pie:dsedps:2015/204&r=all |
| By: | Francisco Lupiañez (Open Evidence); Cristiano Codagnone (Open Evidence); Rosa Dalet (Block de ideas) |
| Abstract: | This is the final methodological report on the project on 'ICT to support the integration into everyday life of immigrants and minorities'. The research objectives were to describe immigrants’ ICT skills, access, usage, and to explore how they differ with respect to different profiles and broad socio-economic and other personal characteristics such as integration and employability. In order to pursue these objectives, a face-to-face survey was carried out in three countries (Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Spain). A total of 1,653 third country nationals were interviewed. An ad-hoc questionnaire was designed, based on previous studies and official statistics. It was translated into ten different languages so that it covered all the nationalities from the sample. Due to the characteristics of the target group, the dissemination strategy and data collection put special emphasis on the interviewer selection and training process. Face-to-face survey procedures and specific participant recruitment strategies were developed, considering different contact points depending on the characteristics of the target. Descriptive univariate and bivariate statistical analysis as well as multivariate statistical analysis of certain aspects have been carried out. In addition, we have also re-classified the data obtained and constructed two categorical variables: ‘Profile’ that includes as its values five meaningful and homogenous migrant profiles and ‘Connected’ and ‘Non-connected’. |
| Keywords: | Digital single market, connected, immigrants, skills, employability, digital, competences, migration, integration, e-inclusion, digital agenda, information and communication technologies |
| JEL: | I00 I18 |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc93956&r=all |