Is there a refugee gap? Evidence from over a century of Danish naturalizations (2024)

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Volume 28 Issue 3 August 2024
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Nina Boberg-Fazlić

Department of Business and Economics,

TU Dortmund University

, Dortmund,

Germany

and CEPR, London, UK, nina.bobergfazlic@tu-dortmund.de

Corresponding author: nina.bobergfazlic@tu-dortmund.de

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Paul Sharp

Department of Economics,

University of Southern Denmark

, Odense,

Denmark and CEPR, London, UK

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European Review of Economic History, Volume 28, Issue 3, August 2024, Pages 424–452, https://doi.org/10.1093/ereh/heae001

Published:

17 February 2024

Article history

Received:

22 December 2022

Accepted:

22 December 2023

Published:

17 February 2024

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    Nina Boberg-Fazlić, Paul Sharp, Is there a refugee gap? Evidence from over a century of Danish naturalizations, European Review of Economic History, Volume 28, Issue 3, August 2024, Pages 424–452, https://doi.org/10.1093/ereh/heae001

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Abstract

The “refugee gap”—the difference in the economic status of refugees relative to other migrants might be due to the experience of being a refugee or to government policy. In Denmark before the Second World War, refugees were not treated differently from other migrants, motivating our use of a database of the universe of Danish naturalizations between 1851 and 1960. We consider labor market performance and find that immigrants leaving conflicts fared no worse or even performed better than other migrants within this relatively homogeneous sample of those who attained citizenship. This suggests that refugees and other migrants might be given the same rights if policy aims to ensure economic success.

© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Historical Economics Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights)

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Is there a refugee gap? Evidence from over a century of Danish naturalizations (2024)

FAQs

What is the refugee gap? ›

The “refugee gap”—the difference in the economic status of refugees relative to other migrants might be due to the experience of being a refugee or to government policy.

Where are most refugees to Denmark from? ›

In 2022, the largest group of people with a refugee status residing in Denmark was, by far, Ukrainians. Nearly 33,000 Ukrainian refugees live in Denmark. By comparison, Syrians, which made up the second largest group of refugees, counted less than 20,000 people.

When did immigration start in Denmark? ›

1960s and 1970s

As a result of the increased demand, a majority of immigrants that came to Denmark during the 1960s and early 1970s were migrant laborers with guest worker status. A large proportion of the guest worker population came from Turkey, Yugoslavia, and Pakistan.

How are refugees treated in Denmark? ›

Denmark, a wealthy Nordic nation, has taken a hard line on immigration over the last decade, revoking refugees' residence permits, confiscating asylum seekers' valuables and looking to locate asylum centres in countries like Rwanda and Serbia.

What is the refugee paradox? ›

The global refugee regime can be characterized by central paradoxes, similarly to how our societal narratives around displacement and refuge are fundamentally contradictory, yet immanent to the system they help to maintain.

What are the 5 grounds of refugee? ›

The five enumerated grounds listed in Art. 1A(2) of the Geneva Refugee Convention and Protocol : race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion which must be the reason for persecution .

What is Denmark's attitude toward immigration? ›

Once a liberal and open country, Denmark today has some of the most restrictive immigration policies in Europe. In particular, the country's deterrence-centred asylum policies have been heavily criticised in recent years. Immigration has become a deeply politicised issue.

Who are the most foreigners in Denmark? ›

Turkey and Poland are the most common nationalities

People who moved from or have heritage in Turkey comprised 66,693 Danish residents in 2023, making Turkey the country with the largest proportion of foreign nationals living in Denmark. Next is Poland with 56,760 and Romania is third with 46,163.

Which state has the most Danish immigrants? ›

Among the states with most Danish immigrants you will find:
  • California with 207,030 inhabitants of Danish descent.
  • Utah with 144,713 of Danish descent.
  • Iowa with 66,954 people of Danish descent (corresponding to 2.3 % of the state's population.

How many Americans have Danish ancestry? ›

An estimated 1,127,518 people in the United States claim Danish descent. The Library of Congress has resources to help them trace their ancestry.

What is the largest immigrant group in Denmark? ›

Number of immigrants living in Denmark 2024, by country of origin. With nearly 49,000 living in Denmark as of January 1, 2024, most immigrants were from Poland. The second and third largest groups of immigrants were from Ukraine and Romania, amounting to roughly 41,000 and 40,000 people, respectively.

Who were the first settlers in Denmark? ›

The first humans in Denmark

The first Danes were hunters and fisherman who probably entered the country migrating from Southern and Eastern Europe by the end of the last Ice Age around 10,000 BC. By 3000 BC, farms had begun to appear on the flat, fertile land we now call Denmark.

Why is Denmark sending refugees back? ›

According to the Immigration Service, the security situation in the two governorates has improved, which means Syrian refugees from these areas may lose their temporary protection in Denmark and be forced to return home.

What is the issue in Denmark? ›

As of April 2024, the biggest worry among people in Denmark was climate change. Immigration and health care followed behind. Denmark's health care system is struggling to fill open positions, leading to a lack of employees.

Does Denmark say no to immigration? ›

In the last decade, Denmark has integrated an increasingly harsh stance on immigration. In 2023, Denmark revoked residency permits for Syria refugees, declaring some parts of the war-torn country safe for return, before backtracking after international backlash.

What is the main reason refugees leave their country? ›

Refugees are people who flee their home country because of danger or persecution and because they are not protected by their country's government.

What is the current refugee ceiling? ›

President Biden affirmed the United States' commitment to welcoming refugees by maintaining the total admissions ceiling in FY 2024 Presidential Determinations on Refugee Admissions (PD 2023-13) at 125,000, the same target President Biden established since FY 2022 and the highest target in several decades.

What is the refugee crisis? ›

A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of forcibly displaced persons. These could be either internally displaced, refugees, asylum seekers or any other huge groups of migrants.

What 5 countries are most refugees fleeing from? ›

Ranking of the major source countries of refugees as of 2022
CharacteristicNumber of refugees
Syria6,547,818
Ukraine5,679,880
Afghanistan5,661,675
South Sudan2,294,983
9 more rows
Jul 4, 2024

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