Region of Origin: Settlement Decisions of Turkish and Iranian Immigrants in Sweden, 1968-2001

Siddartha Aradhya, Lund University
Finn Hedefalk, Lund University
Jonas Helgertz, Lund University
Kirk A. Scott, Lund University

This paper focuses on the residential settlement decisions of first-generation immigrants from Iran and Turkey in Sweden between 1968 and 2001. We aim to address a gap in our knowledge regarding the residential decisions of immigrants by examining two comparatively disadvantaged groups in the labor market, combining post-migration outcomes with unique information pertaining to the individual’s pre-migration experience. More specifically, we examine a sample of immigrants from Turkey and Iran, arriving in Sweden between 1968 and 1994, and followed until 2001. This study intends to build upon the current understanding of country of origin’s impact on immigrants’ settlement patterns by focusing upon within country of origin regional effects. The contribution of this paper is in assessing whether region of origin is a better predictor of relocation destination than is country of origin, the more often used measure in existing research.