Estimating the Age- and Duration-Specific Rates of Out-Migration among Foreign Born Workers: Evidence from French Pension Data

Romeo Gansey, University of Pennsylvania
Matthieu Solignac , Univ. Bordeaux; INED
Irma T. Elo, University of Pennsylvania
Myriam Khlat, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Michel Guillot, University of Pennsylvania & INED

Little is known about the magnitude, age patterns, and timing of out-migration among all immigrants to a single receiving country, despite important policy implications. This paper bridges these gaps by drawing on French pension data covering the foreign born from a wide variety of sending countries, whether they still reside in France or have moved abroad. The data provide a unique opportunity to examine the magnitude of the departures from this major immigrant-receiving country by age, duration of stay, and country of origin. We find that over one-third of male foreign born who worked in France out-migrate before retirement. This proportion ranges between 19 and 64 percent for the Morocco born and the Spain born, respectively. While out-migration is experienced through immigrants’ entire life, it mostly peaks in the early thirties and around the ages of retirement. The foreign born who out-migrate often do so before 40 years of age, within 10 to 15 years of their arrival in France. Our results further reveal marked differences in the age- and duration-specific rates of out-migration by country of origin. Finally, they highlight the importance of longitudinal data that capture migrant movements across international borders for the study of migration.

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 Presented in Session 68. Out-Migration: Measures, Causes and Consequences