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The social ecology of human development -- Divergent family spheres -- Other spheres of influence -- Risky reproduction -- Ecology under the skin -- Human capital formation -- Crime and delinquency -- Transitions to adulthood -- What if? a counterfactual analysis -- The ecology of inequality.

AbstractThis study examines employment access, class attainment, and earnings among native‐born and first‐generation immigrants in Denmark using Danish administrative data from 2002. Results suggest large gaps in employment access between native‐born Danes and immigrants, as well as among immigrant groups by country of origin and time of arrival. Non‐Western immigrants and those arriving after 1984 are at a particular disadvantage compared to other immigrants, a finding not explained by education differences. Immigrants are more likely to be employed in unskilled manual jobs and less likely to be employed in professional and intermediate‐level positions than native‐born Danes, although the likelihood of obtaining higher‐level positions increases as immigrants' time in Denmark lengthens. Class attainment and accumulated work experience explain a significant portion of native‐immigrant gaps in earnings, but work experience reduces native‐immigrant gaps in class attainment for lower‐level positions only. The Danish "flexicurity" model and its implications for immigrants living in Denmark are discussed.

Kosovo is the second poorest country in Europe, after Moldova, with one in five Kosovars living in poverty. Improved economic conditions in the country have yet to translate into significant poverty reduction. The poor are over-represented in households headed by women, in households in which the head has not completed secondary education, in households with more children, in larger households, and among people whose main source of income is social assistance, specifically category I social assistance scheme beneficiaries. Child benefits are one of the most common components of the family benefit systems in the European countries, and worldwide. They are part of a broader set of measures aimed at reducing poverty and vulnerability of families with children. The Social Assistance Scheme is Kosovo's overarching program for protection against poverty of various vulnerable groups. Beneficiary families of the social assistance scheme receive a child supplement for each child. On November 7, 2018, the Parliament of the Kosovo adopted a resolution calling on the government of Kosovo to draft legislation for a state budget financed child benefit, considering criteria such as family income, employment status of parents, and children's age. This note provides an overview of international experiences with child benefits and uses data from the Kosovo household budget survey to assess the impact of various options for protecting children against poverty. To avoid duplicating the existing child supplement, the targeting mechanism and implementation rules for any new child benefit should, at the very least, be coordinated with the targeting design and implementation arrangements of the social assistance scheme.

During the last two decades most Western countries have experienced increased net immigration as well as increased income inequality. This article analyzes the effects on income inequality of an increased number of immigrants in Denmark and Germany for the 20- year period 1984-2003 and how the impact of the increased number of immigrants differs between the two countries. We find higher inequality for immigrants than natives in Denmark but vice versa for Germany. Over the period 1984-2003, this particular inequality gap has narrowed in both countries. At the same time, the contribution of immigrants to overall inequality has increased, primarily caused by increased between-group inequality. The share of immigrants in the population is more important for the change in overall inequality in Denmark than in Germany, while the opposite is the case for inequality among immigrants.