Migrant Assimilation in the Labour Market: what is missing in the Economic Litterature

The objective of this research paper is to understand whether and, if so, how the economic literature on the assimilation of immigrants takes into account the role played by origin countries in process of immigrant assimilation in destination countries. This subject is not tackled explicitly, as researchers tend to look at the question of the possible role of the origin country in the selection mechanism only indirectly. Many variables used by researchers are strongly tied to the policies of the origin country, but a specific effect has not been isolated and, indeed, is difficult to isolate. Better data and more research are needed.