Free movement of people and a common labour market is one of the four main pillars underlining the single market of the EU. The central aim of the Europe 2020 strategy, is to promote “smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”. One of the flagship initiatives of the EU2020 strategy centers on the labour market with of focus on the labour market matching, e.g. through labour mobility. In 2016 around 92% of the EU-28 workforce resided and worked in the same region (NUTS 2), 7% commuted between regions while just under 1% of the workers were cross-border commuters. These low mobility figures are striking considering that over a third of the EU population lives in a border region. Hence, the potential for increased integration across borders is large but there is a gap in the knowledge on mobility through cross-border commuting.
In the past, data constraints have hindered research on cross-border commuters, but in project, BRIDGE, I am able to overcome those challenges. BRIDGE is at the forefront of this research by being the first study to merge and link employee-employer micro-data across borders. The main objective of BRIDGE is to open up the black box of increased economic and labor market integration across borders through cross-border commuting and trade. This core objective has been reached.
In addition thereto, we have the unique opportunity to look simultaneously at the impact of a large policy shock (Öresund Bridge) on labour market and firm outcomes in both Denmark and Sweden before and after the introduction of a physical connection between the two countries. This combination of a large policy shock and cross-country linked micro-data allows us to investigate a large array of potential research questions related to labour market and firm outcomes, integration, and regional development. The focus of BRIDGE is on how lower cross-border thresholds to labour mobility impacts economic outcomes of the commuter and the employers/firms hiring them.
BREXIT and the closure of borders related to refugee inflows in the EU has highlighted the importance of national borders. More specifically, project BRIDGE adds to the knowledge on cross-border workers and how large infrastructure projects can lead to increased integration and value for society at large.
