Quite often, migrants appear to exert little effort to absorb the mainstream culture and to learn the language of their host society, even though the economic returns (increased productivity and enhanced earnings) to assimilation are high. We show that when interpersonal comparisons affect...

This thesis consists of three essays on the economic and cultural integration of migrants in Switzerland, reverse causation between these two dimensions of the integration process, and the role of host society culture. Whereas each dimension is usually examined separately, this study proposes a...

Housing is an important inclusion factor that reflects the degree of stability of vulnerable groups in terms of ethnic or racial origin, who face several difficulties to access good housing. Many studies focused on the marginalisation of this social groups identifying important problems and...

Is ethnic diversity good or bad for economic development? Most empirical studies find corrosive effects. In this paper, I show that ethnic diversity need not spell poor development outcomes–a history of within-group heterogeneity can turn ethnic diversity into an advantage for long-run...

Is ethnic diversity good or bad for economic development? Most studies find corrosive effects. I document that ethnic diversity need not spell poor development outcomes—a history of within-group heterogeneity can turn ethnic diversity into an advantage for development. I collect data from a...

Neighborhood racial and class segregation continue to be major social problems within America’s metropolitan areas. Segregation has been linked to a whole host of racial and class inequalities, including access to jobs, schooling and single parenthood, and future earnings. One factor...

We examine the varying influence of the presence of homosexual couples on average home prices with different compositions of educational attainment and race. We find that a higher number of homosexuals in relatively higher educated areas is associated with higher average prices and lower average...

This paper empirically investigates whether emigrants from MENA countries self-select on cultural traits such as religiosity and gender-egalitarian attitudes. To do so, we use Gallup World Poll data on individual opinions and beliefs, migration aspirations, short-run migration plans, and...