Gaining from Migration: a Case Study on Greece

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Gaining from Migration a Case Study on Greece
Theodora Xenogiani OECD Development Centre

• Migration and Development
• A Euro-Mediterranean Perspective
• Rhodes
• 26 April 2007

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Labour Market Outcomes of Foreign Workers
Contrary to the experience of Northern European
countries, immigrants in Greece have higher
employment and participation rates than natives

• Occupation
• Sector of work

• Employment, unemployment and participation rates
• Wages
• Job stability

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Occupation at Work

• Immigrant workers are highly segregated in
  specific occupations. Half of them would have to
  change jobs for their distribution to be the same
  as that of natives
• Half of foreign men are craft and related trades
  workers
• 57 of foreign women are employed in elementary
  occupations
• The share of foreign workers employed as managers
  and professionals has decreased substantially
  between 1993 and 2006

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Sector of Work Foreign Men
1993 2006
Agriculture, hunting and Forestry 4.7 7.8
Fishing 0.5 0.1
Mining and quarrying 0.2 0.4
Manufacturing 26.8 18.0
Electricity, gas and water supply 0.5 0.4
Construction 26.4 49.3
Wholesale and retail trade vehicle repair 15.1 8.8
Hotels and restaurants 6.5 7.1
Transport, storage, communications 4.5 2.5
Financial intermediation 1.1 0.0
Real estate, renting and business activities 4.4 2.2
Public administration and defense 1.5 0.6
Education 2.3 0.4
Health and social work 1.5 0.5
Other service activities 3.1 1.0
Private households with employees 0.7 0.9
Immigrants represent 26 of total employment in
construction. Their share was only 3 in 1993
Source LFS 2006b
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Sector of Work Foreign Women
1993 2006
Agriculture, hunting and Forestry 5.2 5.9
Fishing 0.8 0.0
Manufacturing 15.4 8.7
Construction 0.8 0.9
Wholesale and retail trade vehicle repair 9.7 7.2
Hotels and restaurants 12.0 16.3
Transport, storage, communications 3.7 0.6
Financial intermediation 0.8 0.7
Real estate, renting and business activities 5.8 5.2
Public administration and defense 1.4 0.0
Education 9.9 1.8
Health and social work 3.0 3.5
Other service activities 5.5 2.9
Private households with employees 25.7 46.3
extra-territorial organisations 0.4 0.2
71 of female domestic employees are foreigners
Source LFS 2006b
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Labour Market Outcomes

• Controlling for basic characteristics
• Foreign men have higher employment and labour
  market participation rates than Greek men
• Foreign men and women do not have higher than
  natives unemployment rates
• Butboth foreign men and women are less likely to
  hold permanent jobs

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Foreign-Natives Gaps in Labour Market Outcomes
Men Women Men Women
Participation1 Participation1 Permanent Job1 Permanent Job1
Foreign 0.08 0.019 -0.287 -0.47
Citizen1 (0.012) (0.033) (0.039) (0.047)
Observations 5068 5329 2246 1672

Employment Employment Unemployment Unemployment
Foreign 0.124 0.005 -0.017 0.01
Citizen1 (0.018) (0.033) (0.01) (0.014)
Observations 5068 5329 5037 5329
Source SILC 2004
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Foreign-Natives Gaps in Wages
Log (Wages) Log (Wages) Log (Wages) Log (Wages)
Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women
Foreign -0.184 -0.116 -0.384 -0.159
Citizen1 (0.028) (0.029) (0.042) (0.044)
Occupation Dummies no yes no yes
Observations 2251 2251 1672 1672
Source SILC 2004
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Foreign-Natives Gaps in Wages

• Substantial wage gaps between foreign nationals
  and Greek nationals, over the period 1999-2005
• Significant drop in wage gap after 2003

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Understanding the Wage Gap

• The wage gaps between immigrant and Greek men are
  mostly explained by differences in the returns to
  their characteristics and not differences in
  their actual characteristics. The opposite is
  true for women.

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