Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Is a combination of language and vocational training an effective labour market policy for immigrants? - a quantitative study of Swedish municipalities

Olsson, Rebecca LU and Stoytchev Sulevani, Robin LU (2023) NEKN01 20231
Department of Economics
Abstract
In recent years, Swedish municipalities have introduced programs that combine Swedish language education with vocational training. However, due to the novelty and lack of an established framework, data and research on their effectiveness in improving immigrant labour market performance is limited. This essay addresses this gap by estimating the causal effect of vocational training combined with Swedish for immigrants (SFI) on employment among newly arrived immigrants. We employ a staggered Difference-in-Difference method using a self-collected and unique dataset covering 174 out of 290 municipalities, identifying which municipalities offer vocational SFI and when these programs were implemented. Additionally, we utilise municipality-level... (More)
In recent years, Swedish municipalities have introduced programs that combine Swedish language education with vocational training. However, due to the novelty and lack of an established framework, data and research on their effectiveness in improving immigrant labour market performance is limited. This essay addresses this gap by estimating the causal effect of vocational training combined with Swedish for immigrants (SFI) on employment among newly arrived immigrants. We employ a staggered Difference-in-Difference method using a self-collected and unique dataset covering 174 out of 290 municipalities, identifying which municipalities offer vocational SFI and when these programs were implemented. Additionally, we utilise municipality-level employment data for foreign-born individuals from Statistics Sweden (SCB). The results show a positive treatment effect of vocational SFI on employment rates. Among foreign-born individuals residing for 2-3 years, a positive effect is observed at the 10% significance level, while residents of 4-9 years experience a slightly higher treatment effect, significant at the 1% level. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Olsson, Rebecca LU and Stoytchev Sulevani, Robin LU
supervisor
organization
course
NEKN01 20231
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Combination education, Swedish for Immigrants (SFI), Vocational training, Labour market policy, Diff-in-Diff.
language
English
id
9126692
date added to LUP
2023-09-12 15:37:28
date last changed
2023-09-12 15:37:28
@misc{9126692,
  abstract     = {{In recent years, Swedish municipalities have introduced programs that combine Swedish language education with vocational training. However, due to the novelty and lack of an established framework, data and research on their effectiveness in improving immigrant labour market performance is limited. This essay addresses this gap by estimating the causal effect of vocational training combined with Swedish for immigrants (SFI) on employment among newly arrived immigrants. We employ a staggered Difference-in-Difference method using a self-collected and unique dataset covering 174 out of 290 municipalities, identifying which municipalities offer vocational SFI and when these programs were implemented. Additionally, we utilise municipality-level employment data for foreign-born individuals from Statistics Sweden (SCB). The results show a positive treatment effect of vocational SFI on employment rates. Among foreign-born individuals residing for 2-3 years, a positive effect is observed at the 10% significance level, while residents of 4-9 years experience a slightly higher treatment effect, significant at the 1% level.}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Rebecca and Stoytchev Sulevani, Robin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Is a combination of language and vocational training an effective labour market policy for immigrants? - a quantitative study of Swedish municipalities}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}