13 1 Migration and ethnicity: an introduction* Amelie F. Constant and Klaus F. Zimmermann 1 INTRODUCTION Migration as ‘factor mobility’ and migrants as a ‘factor of production’ are of paramount importance in economics. The different skills and education that are embodied in immi- grants, while valuable in the production process, may not be appreciated by all members of the host country. In addition, migrants as human beings are an integral part of the human development in a society and a country. Yet, resistance to the spreading of diver- sity and concerns about the growth of the immigrant population from several groups make immigrants feel unwanted. The imbroglio of migration touches and raises prob- lems in the social, economic, political, cultural and religious spheres not only domesti- cally, but also internationally. Migration scholars, pundits and policymakers alike are deeply divided over the responsibilities and the best concepts for analyzing or solving the issue of international migration. The issue of how immigrants fare in the host country especially in terms of their labor force participation and remuneration occupies the minds of social scientists, politicians and the general public. Using the natives as the gold standard, immigrants have been compared to them. If immigrants fare as well as the natives, then they are economically assimilated. Of equal importance is the question of whether immigrants socialize and mingle with the natives, if they feel comfortable in their new country or they create par- allel societies, and if natives and immigrants have the right attitudes about each other. Terms such as cultural or social assimilation, acculturation, integration, and so on, have been used to capture and describe these concerns. This chapter focuses on economic migrants, that is, individuals who leave their country and loved ones to go abroad to a new country in search of job and other eco- nomic opportunities to better their and their children’s lives. We first review the eco- nomic status quo theories on immigrant performance dealing with what is sometimes called economic assimilation: how do migrants become like natives in economic terms? We then present recent advances in economics about the formation of ethnic identity and its role in the economic and social spheres: how do identities shape and how are they related to economic success? We finally discuss the importance of attitudes and percep- tions in the integration process: are they affected by economic conditions and do they influence economic performance? The chapter is designed as an introduction to the core issues of migration research. We neither attempt to cover all relevant basic knowledge nor do we discuss most of the recent advances in the field, which is the purpose of the other chapters in this volume. Amelie F. Constant and Klaus F. Zimmermann - 9781845426293 Downloaded from Elgar Online at 11/11/2014 07:08:50PM via free access