Labor Policies and Immigrant Employment

Abstract

This survey describes the recent literature on integration and active labor market policies that strive to enhance the employment of immigrants. We searched several databases, and after screening, 63 studies satisfied our predetermined inclusion criteria. The first criterion is that the studies examine policies in Europe. Second, the search was limited to studies published between 2005 and 2024. Third, our primary outcome of interest is employment. Other outcome variables are income, labor market participation, and duration of unemployment. We focus on studies that offer experimental or quasi-experimental evidence on the effects of policies on the employment of immigrants. We divide the policy measures into the following five groups: integration programs, language training, benefits, childcare, and residency policies. Our main finding is that well-executed integration measures can improve the labor market attachment of immigrants, speed up the process of entering employment, and improve the quality of attained jobs.

Publication Information

Kiviholma, S. & Karhunen, H. (2025), Labor Policies and Immigrant Employment, Journal of Economic Surveys, 39:4, 1–19.

• ISSN: 0950-0804, eISSN: 1467-6419
• JEL: J61, J64, J68