(with Andries de Grip and Didier Fouarge)
This paper investigates the relationship between risk attitude and individuals’ decision to migrate to alternative countries on the basis of cultural differences. We hypothesize that risk tolerant individuals are more likely to move to countries culturally distant to their home countries as well as they are more likely to migrate as they perceive psychic costs such as adaptation to a new environment less. Using a sample of Dutch university and college graduates from ROA School Leavers Survey 2008-2009, we find that risk tolerant individuals are more likely to migrate and to move to culturally remote destinations. Being more risk tolerant is associated with at least one fourth increase in migration probability. Higher risk tolerance is also related to an increase in cultural distance migrated by 0.8% to 3%. This finding is robust across alternative cultural distance measures. Our paper contributes to the literature by providing the first evidence on the association between risk attitude and destination choice on the basis of cultural differences in the context of international migration.
JEL Classification: J61, D81
(with Andries de Grip)
This paper investigates whether international students studying in The Netherlands have different preferences for job attributes than Dutch students. Using a stated-choice experiment on job attribute preferences of MSc students in STEM fields, we show that international students are less likely to prefer jobs that involve autonomy and teamwork in carrying work tasks than their Dutch peers. International students, who come from countries that score lower in Hofstede’s power distance index and higher on individualism are more likely to prefer higher levels of autonomy in their future jobs, whereas those who come from countries that score higher on masculinity are less likely to prefer jobs that are characterized by teamwork.
JEL classification: J81, M14, Z1
(with Bas ter Weel and Karen van der Wiel)
This paper examines whether the quality of neighborhoods that second-generation immigrants were born in and exposed to during their early formative years affects their economic achievements in the long term. Using employment and income data from Statistics Netherlands, we test the effects of neighborhood quality on the long-term economic integration of second-generation Moluccan immigrants who were born in camps in the Netherlands after their families were boatlifted from Indonesia in 1951 and randomly assigned to residential areas that differ from one another in terms of localities, amenities, and sizes. Our results show that the quality of neighborhoods measured by the availability of nearby work opportunities matters for second-generation immigrants’ labor market attachment in the long run. Being born in a camp that had nearby work opportunities positively affects the employment prospects of second-generation women more than men at age 50 and in their 60s. This study also adds to the existing literature by showing that the quality of neighborhoods measured by the availability of nearby work opportunities positively affects the sustainability of employment of second-generation male migrants at older ages (i.e., in their 60s).
JEL classification: J15, J24, R23