Refugee integration program

Following the recent inflow of refugees to Europe, the economic and social integration of those granted a permit to stay is a key policy concern. In particular refugee women tend to have a weak labor market attachment, and many are still outside of the labor force after many years in their host country.

We study a standardised refugee integration program in Sweden using a regression discontinuity design. Instead of having municipalities run their own programs, a new program led by the Public employment service (PES) was implemented in 2010. We make use of the fact that eligibility was determined based on the decision date of individuals' asylum application, and thereby quasi-random.

We find that the program improved women's earnings and employment, and that these effects emerge 2-3 years after the program has ended. Exploring potential mechanisms, we find that the program speeded up the time to entering the integration program, and to come in contact with the PES. We also find that the reform improved language skills, as it improved language course outcomes.