Differences in Labour Mobility Between Immigrant Generations: Evidence From the European Debt Crisis

Abstract

Immigrants' higher responsiveness to regional differences in labour market conditions has been recognised as a potentially important adjustment mechanism to labour market shocks. This paper investigates an aspect less explored by previous research, namely how labour mobility patterns are passed on across immigrant generations. Using Euro Area household‐level data, we compare mobility patterns of first‐ and 1.5‐generation immigrants and natives. We observe that 1.5‐generation immigrants have a significantly lower interregional and international mobility compared to first‐generation immigrants but are more mobile than natives. Our results suggest that not only first‐generation immigrants but also their descendants contribute to labour market flexibility.