External integration is often viewed as an important driver of economic development, but most existing studies use aggregate data. This column present evidence from a natural experiment provided by Argentina’s integration into the world markets in the late 19th century. The findings suggest that proximity to trade centres is associated with employment density, high lands rates relative to wages, and structural transformation away from agriculture.
Pablo Fajgelbaum, Stephen Redding, Saturday, July 12, 2014
Bruno Maçães, Wednesday, July 9, 2014
The debate on the future of the European Union is in full swing. In this column, Bruno Macaes – the Portuguese Minister for Europe – stresses the importance of policy coordination in achieving better integration. One way to do so is via a fiscal union, but this creates unity at the expense of diversity. A second way involves formal contracts and partnerships. But to make this approach less rigid, the political dialogue does not need to be formalised in actual contracts.
Pieter Bevelander, Ravi Pendakur, Monday, January 10, 2011
The Great Recession worsened the already-intractable unemployment problem of many immigrant communities in western countries. Can acquiring citizenship improve employment prospects for immigrants? CEPR Discussion Paper 8182 argues that recent liberalization of citizenship regulations in Sweden and Canada has increased employment probabilities for immigrant groups in both countries.
Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano, Giovanni Peri, Thursday, April 17, 2008
Immigration of less educated, younger Eastern Europeans and North Africans to Western Europe would economically benefit its educated and older population. This column, summarising research on immigration effects in Germany, suggests that, to fully reap the benefits from immigration, Western Europe should make its labour markets more competitive and accessible to outsiders (immigrants) and its welfare state more selective.
Alberto Bisin, Eleonora Patacchini, Thierry Verdier, Yves Zenou, Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Are Muslims successfully resisting integration in the UK? And are Muslims who belong to certain socio-economic or demographic groups more likely to integrate than others?