Information and immigrant settlement

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Barsbai, Toman; Licuanan, Victoria; Steinmayr, Andreas; Tiongson, Erwin; Yang, Dean
• 署名单位: University of Bristol; Asian Institute of Management; University of Innsbruck; Leibniz Association; Ifo Institut; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Georgetown University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103305
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: Immigrant integration; social networks; imperfect information; Multiple hypothesis testing

摘要

We study a randomly-assigned program providing information on U.S. settlement for new Filipino immigrants. The intervention, a 2.5-hour pre-departure training and an accompanying paper handbook, has no effect on employment, settlement, and subjective wellbeing, but leads immigrants to acquire substantially fewer social network connections. We rationalize these findings with a simple model, showing that information and social network links are substitutes under reasonable assumptions. Consistent with the model, the treatment reduces social network links more when costs of acquiring network links are lower. Offsetting reductions in the acquisition of social network connections can hence reduce the effectiveness of information interventions.