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Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 25 No. 2 2007

Optimal Immigration and Cultural Assimilation

István Kónya1,2

1 Central European University · 2 Hungarian National Bank

Abstract

This article develops a model that examines the role of cultural conflict in immigration and immigration policy. Cultural differences lead to frictions between natives and immigrants unless the latter make a costly investment to assimilate. This article’s key contribution is the joint analysis of the assimilation and migration decisions, which highlights the inefficiency of some commonly advocated policy tools to achieve the first best. U.S. data provide preliminary support for the model’s implications.

DOI
10.1086/511378
Volume
25
Issue
2
Pages
367-391
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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