Essays on migration

Abstract

This dissertation consists of four empirical essays and an introductory chapter on the economics of migration. The first two essays study the longterm effects of relocating 11% of the Finnish population after the World War II. The first essay suggests that this shock set off a self-reinforcing process, where municipalities receiving the largest flows of displaced persons grew faster also in later periods. The second essay shows that being displaced increased long-term income of men, but had no effect on income of women. A large part of the effect is attributed to faster transition from traditional (rural) to modern (urban) occupations among the displaced. The remaining essays focus on more recent immigrants to Finland. The third essay finds that upon arrival immigrants earn substantially less than comparable natives. Only men from OECD countries converge to natives' earnings over time. The last essay suggests that the a change in the integration policy in 1999 increased immigrants' employment and earnings and decreased their dependency on social benefits.