| Summary: | This thesis analyses several aspects of the performance, welfare and reception of immigrants in the UK. The thesis is organised into three parts and contains the introduction and six chapters. In the introduction, we provide the motivation and estabhsh the background for the analysis performed in the thesis. We discuss recent trends in migration in the UK and describe the data sources used for the analysis. In part one we analyse the economic performance of immigrants, and how this is affected by the level of proficiency in the host country language. We also investigate the association between ethnic concentration and language fluency. In chapter two, the effect of language proficiency in English is investigated as a determinant of wages and employment probabihties, taking into account econometric issues such as endogeneity and measurement error. This is followed by chapter three, which investigates the association between immigrants' language proficiency and ethnic context. In part two, chapter four presents an analysis of health inequalities between ethnic minority immigrants and the native population in England. A model of migration decisions is developed that includes health as a determinant of migration. According to this model, if health and income are positively correlated, immigrants are likely to be positively selected in terms of health. This discussion illustrates the problems deriving from the available measures of health. Part two deals with issues of "reception". In chapter five, the impact of immigration on the UK labour market is investigated. We use aggregate information at regional level. The analysis concentrates on employment and wage effects of immigration. Finally, chapter six provides an analysis of the association between ethnic concentration, attitudes of the majority population and the probability of ethnic minorities experiencing racial hostility.
|
|---|
