Economics of Norwegian Citizenship

SLIDE-2 Introduction : the topic for my presentation is The Economics of Norwegian citizenship Citizenship acquisition : 1977 – to 8154 or an increase of 58.9% (Western countries) 544 to 870 or an increase 56.9% (Non-Western countries) Figure 1

Figure 1. Citizenship by Geographical Regions

SLIDE-3 Objective: To answer the following question: WHY IS AN INCREASING NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS TRADING-OFF THEIR PREVIOUS CITIZENSHIP FOR NORWEGIAN CITIZENSHP ? GIVEN THAT DUAL CITIZENSHIP IS THEORETICALLY NOT AN OPTION IN NORWAY

SLIDE-4 Assumptions: Rationality and economic incentives Opportunity costs Explicit costs (application fees, transaction costs etc.) Implicit costs (including psychological cost of military conscription). Acquire citizenship if net benefit is positive.

SLIDE-5 CITIZENSHIP ACQUISITION Applying to acquire a legal status as a citizen of Norway. NATURALIZATION Granting citizenship to eligible immigrants in Norway by the authorities. ( A policy variable ).

SLIDE-6 The Norwegian Nationality Act of 1950 : Requirements for Naturalization in Norway Individual must be over 18 years of age (some exemptions apply) be a permanent resident of Norway for a period of 7 years. [2 years for Nordic citizens] have no criminal convictions not owe more than NOK20,000 in connection with maintenance fee (e.g., child and spousal support etc).

SLIDE-7 Data and Descriptive analysis A single panel: 1999 Sample truncated by AGE : 18 years plus YEARS SINCE MIGRATION : 7 years plus/2 years for the Nordic sample. Table

SLIDE-8 VariableCaptures Yrs of Schooling Human capital Age/Age squared Human capital YSM dummies Assimilation Male, Married Family sponsorship, Age of youngest child Minimum age exemption dummy Refugee-sending Refugee status Geographical regions Poor regions in the world Predicted wage Economic premium Government sector National security related jobs

SLIDE-9 Probit estimates Table 2

Table 2. The Probit Estimates of Citizenship Propensities Model Constant (-.786) (-2.560) (-2.594) Years of schooling (1.423) (1.509) (1.464) Age.0087 NA NA (2.003) Age squared NA NA (-1.763)

Table 2. Contd. Model Length of stay 9 – 10 years (9.855)(9.737)(9.706) 11 – 12 years (10.879) (10.853) (11.589) 13 – 14 years (8.308) (8.590) (8.666) > 14 years (3.613) (4.727) (3.892)

Table 3. Contd. Model Age of youngest child (1.850)(1.799)(2.069) Government sector (1.859)(1.417)(1.669) Predicted wage NA (2.785)(2.810) Number of correct pred. 83.9% 83.8% 83.9%

Conclusion Age, length of stay in Norway (strongest predictor), predicted wage (a proxy for expected wage) and employment in government sector (police, defense, prisons and justices) have statistically positive influence on immigrants citizenship acquisition.