[{"_id":"project:2518","_type":"project","abstract":{"en":"One of the main reasons for migrating is the pursuit of better opportunities for one self and for one’s children than what are offered in the country of origin. However migration research has traditionally focused on comparing migrant outcomes to those of the natives in the host country. From a migrant’s perspective it is arguably more rational to compare migration outcomes to those that were offered to the person in the country of origin. This is however difficult to do.By studying migrants from Finland to Sweden this project will focus on the life trajectories of emigrants and their children in comparison to those who did not migrate. We will use linked population registers from Finland and Sweden to analyze demographic, educational and labor market outcomes of Finnish immigrants to Sweden from 1970 to present in comparison to their siblings who stayed in Finland. By linking registers individuals and their family can be followed in both countries. In the next step we will compare their Swedish born children to their non-migrant cousins in Finland, showing whether the migration decision provided a better life for the next generation. The within family research design provides a novel way to address some of the issues of migrant selectivity. By comparing each migrant to his/hers sibling(s) who have shared the same parents, home environment etc., we can address issues of selectivity in a much more powerful way than what has hitherto been the case within migration research."},"keywords":{"sv":"Östersjö- och Östeuropaforskning","en":"Baltic and East European studies"},"project_id":"S2-20-0026_OSS","identifier_short":"S2-20-0026","dates":{"start_date":"2021-01-01","end_date":"2023-12-31"},"organizations":[{"funding":[{"_id":7,"id":"802400-4155","sv":"Östersjöstiftelsen","en":"The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies"}]},{"coordinating":[{"_id":481,"id":"202100-4896","sv":"Södertörns högskola","en":"Södertörn University"}]}],"people":[{"project_leaders":[{"_id":"authority-person:68883","orcid":"0000-0003-3442-9377","name":"Turunen, Jani","role":"principal_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":11829,"sv":"Socialt arbete","en":"Social Work","parent":[{"_id":11822,"sv":"Institutionen för samhällsvetenskaper","en":"School of Social Sciences","parent":[{"_id":481,"id":"202100-4896","sv":"Södertörns högskola","en":"Södertörn University"}]}]}]}]},{"other_personnel":[{"orcid":"0000-0001-8422-7023","name":"Weber, Rosa","role":"co_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":504,"id":"202100-3062","sv":"Stockholms universitet","en":"Stockholm University"}]},{"orcid":"0000-0003-3748-6270","name":"Aradhya, Siddartha","role":"co_investigator","affiliation":[{"_id":504,"id":"202100-3062","sv":"Stockholms universitet","en":"Stockholm University"}]}]}],"tags":[{"_id":11748,"id":"50401","sv":"Sociologi (exklusive socialt arbete, socialpsykologi och socialantropologi)","en":"Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)"}],"titles":{"en":"Leavers and stayers - Migrant and non-migrant life trajectories in Sweden and Finland"},"total_funding":"4764000","type_of_awards":{"sv":"Projektbidrag","en":"Project grant"},"publications":[{"id":"diva2:2080341","type":"article-journal","status":"Epub ahead of print","issued":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"title":"Returns to Returning with Sibling Comparisons : Register-Based Evidence from Finland","language":"eng","author":[{"family":"Xia","given":"Weiqian","affiliation":[{"name":"Åbo Akademi University, Finland; Stockholm University, Sweden"}]},{"family":"Turunen","given":"Jani","ORCID":"0000-0003-3442-9377","localId":"shjitn19","affiliation":[{"id":"11829","name":"Södertörns högskola, Socialt arbete"}]},{"family":"Aradhya","given":"Siddartha","ORCID":"0000-0003-3748-6270","affiliation":[{"name":"Stockholm University, Sweden; Linköping University, Sweden"}]},{"family":"Saarela","given":"Jan","ORCID":"0000-0001-8313-4271","affiliation":[{"name":"Åbo Akademi University, Finland"}]}],"abstract":"How experience of migration affects the labor market outcome after remigration is difficult to examine because both migration and remigration processes are driven by various mechanisms of selection. In this study, we investigate the labor market outcomes of return migration in Finland in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. With Finnish register data covering the period 1987-2019, we use a counterfactual sibling fixed-effects design that compares the return migrants to their siblings of the same sex who have not migrated, and controls for the influence of family background and pre-adolescent experience. We show that, compared to their same-sex siblings who have no migration experience, return migrants have slightly lower employment rates, particularly men, for whom the gap does not recover over time. Return migrants are overrepresented at both the lower and the upper ends of the income distribution and enjoy substantial income advantages at the higher end. We argue that the labor market disadvantages of return migrants to Finland is likely due to the disruption of social networks during the years spent abroad. However, the disadvantage can be overcome over time and with reintegration to the Finnish labor market.","DOI":"10.1177/01979183261454067","ScopusId":"2-s2.0-105041495206","NBN":"urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-60433","container-title":"The international migration review","ISSN":"1747-7379","keyword":"return migration; labor market performance; migration selection; immigrant integration; sibling comparison design","publisher":"Sage Publications","note":"The authors also received financial support for the research from Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (1086-3.1.1-2023).","published":[{"raw":"2026-06-26T13:25:00.000+02:00"}],"created":[{"raw":"2026-06-26T13:25:23.138+02:00"}],"updated":[{"raw":"2026-07-01T10:16:17.706+02:00"}],"URL":"https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-60433"},{"id":"diva2:1881863","type":"article-journal","status":"Published","issued":{"date-parts":[[2024]]},"title":"Born to move? : Birth order and emigration","language":"eng","author":[{"family":"Saarela","given":"Jan","ORCID":"0000-0001-8313-4271","affiliation":[{"name":"Åbo Akademi University, Finland"}]},{"family":"Turunen","given":"Jani","ORCID":"0000-0003-3442-9377","localId":"shjitn19","affiliation":[{"id":"11829","name":"Södertörns högskola, Socialt arbete"},{"name":"Stockholm University, Sweden"}]}],"abstract":"This paper studies the interrelation between birth order and emigration adopting a family fixed-effects approach. We use register data on all persons in full-siblings groups born 1970–2002 in the entire Finnish-born population, and observe their first move abroad since age 18 in the period 1987–2020. The total number of siblings is 1,352,908, the total number of sibling groups 549,842, and the total number of first moves abroad 31,192. By comparing siblings in the same family, we effectively adjust for all time-invariant confounding from unobserved or unmeasured time-invariant variables. Emigration is found to be positively associated with birth order. The hazard of emigration for second-born siblings is 1.05 that of first borns, that of third borns 1.07, and that of fourth borns 1.11. The pattern is particularly marked for emigration to countries where there is free mobility, and the association is similar for both genders. Potential explanations to the birth order pattern may be variation in personality traits, risk-taking behaviours and aspirations between siblings, or differential allocation of resources and opportunities within families. The results highlight the importance of considering birth order within the context of family dynamics and individual mobility patterns, and they need to be extended to broader settings.","DOI":"10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.103052","PMID":"39216916","ScopusId":"2-s2.0-85196658677","NBN":"urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-54433","volume":"122","number":"103052","container-title":"Social Science Research","ISSN":"1096-0317","keyword":"Birth order; Emigration; Family fixed-effects; Population register; Welfare states","publisher":"Elsevier","published":[{"raw":"2024-07-04T08:27:00.000+02:00"}],"created":[{"raw":"2024-07-04T08:27:26.092+02:00"}],"updated":[{"raw":"2025-11-21T09:03:42.848+01:00"}],"URL":"https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-54433"}],"links":[{"type":"pid","link":"https://su.diva-portal.org/smash/api/project/swecris/project:2518"}]}]