New publication: Spillover effects of stricter immigration policies
A new article in Journal of Public Economics by researchers at Uppsala Immigration Lab, provide evidence for the existence of spillover effects of national immigration policies. The researchers have estimated the effect of stricter family reunification rules in Denmark on migration behavior.
The researchers reach three main conclusions:
- Danish register data show that stricter rules for reunification led to a clear and significant increase in emigration of Danish citizens with immigrant background. Most of the emigrants left Denmark for Sweden, a neighboring country in which reunification was possible.
- Swedish register data show that affected individuals emigrating to Sweden actually came for family formation purposes.
- Not all individuals that came to Sweden to reunite with a partner stayed in the country; of those leaving, return migration to Denmark was most common. The results indicate that potential spillover effects from national migration policies should be taken into account when forming migration policy.
Download the article here