Date of Creation
5-1-2018
Degree Type
Departmental Honors Thesis - Restricted Access
Abstract
Despite the budding controversy over refugees in the United States, current literature has only examined how labor market pull factors affect refugee movement within European countries. Using data from the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center and the Current Population Survey, I find that refugees are more sensitive to regional differences in unemployment rates than immigrants and natural-born Americans. A state’s unemployment rate has a statistically significant impact on the number of refugees that eventually settle in the state. Over time, refugees move to states where they are more likely to be employed, whereas immigrants and natives are less responsive to changes in regional unemployment rates. Additionally, I find that refugees do not settle in the same patterns as non-refugee immigrants or natural-born Americans. Based on these findings, prior research has failed to recognize refugees’ potential to smooth out regional labor market differences in the United States.
Recommended Citation
Vucovich, Dan, "The Effects of Labor Market Pull Factors on Refugee Resettlement in the United States" (2018). Economics and Accounting Honors Theses. 9.
https://crossworks.holycross.edu/econ_honor/9