The doctoral theses contribute with different and complementary perspectives on obstacles and opportunities for establishment in the Swedish labour market. It is hoped that this edition of Dissertation News will contribute to a better understanding of the situation for migrants in the Swedish labour market.

  • Andrey Tibajev defended his dissertation The value of immigrants' human capital for labour market integration at Linköping University in 2022. This publication includes two studies from the dissertation on the labour market valuation of foreign human capital for migrants in Sweden and the effects of formal recognition of foreign education on the employment and wage income of newly arrived academics. Although formal recognition of foreign education is an important tool that facilitates entry into the Swedish labour market, it is not sufficient for newly arrived graduates to obtain a profession that corresponds to their qualifications. A partial explanation is that it is more difficult to address the structural discrimination that exists in the Swedish labour market, where migrants are sorted into occupations that give them fewer opportunities to accumulate new human capital in Sweden.
  • Anni Erlandsson defended her dissertation Gender, Parenthood, Ethnicity and Discrimination in the Labour Market at Stockholm University in 2022. The study included in this publication examines the prevalence of discrimination against people with foreign-sounding names and whether the discrimination is linked to the recruiter's gender. The study shows that men are more likely than women to experience ethnic discrimination in recruitment, although women are also affected. It also shows that recruiters, regardless of gender, discriminate against people with foreign-sounding names, but in different occupational groups.
  • Lillit Ottosson defended her thesis From Welfare to Work at Uppsala University in 2022. The study included in this publication is co-authored with Cristina Bratu and Linna Martén, which examines how the introduction of the so-called establishment reform affected newly arrived women's employment and labour income. The study highlights the importance of the design of integration programmes for women's labour market establishment and that both economic incentives and access to work-related initiatives are relevant components.
  • Louisa Vogiazides defended her dissertation Pathways and destinations at Stockholm University in 2020. This publication includes a study from the dissertation co-authored with Hernan Mondani that examines the links between migrants' settlement patterns and socio-economic integration of migrants in Sweden. The study shows that regional and neighbourhood contexts matter for entry into the labour market. In larger cities there are more job opportunities and in smaller cities it may be easier to establish contact with neighbours, which turns out to be beneficial for getting a first job.

The purpose of the Dissertation Series is to communicate new research on specific themes in the field of migration and integration to both decision-makers and the general public in an easily accessible way. On behalf of Delmi, Ruth Björklöv, Maria Cheung and Suzanne Planchard have edited the anthology.

Publication date: 7 December 2023

Photo: Miguel Teirlinck, Unsplash