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

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