About Me

Name: Fabian Flores Solano
Major / Minor / Concentrations: Economics & Political Science (with focus on International Development)
Expected Year of Graduation: 2028
Hometown / Where I Grew Up: Mexico City, Mexico
Project Name: Bridging Migrant Borders: The Impact of the CIR on Employment in France
Faculty Advisor: Prof. Wendy Weber
Fun Facts: I love exploring cities through their food, and I’m passionate about connecting Latin American culture with global conversations.

 

Program Experience / Reflection

My Definition of Entrepreneurship:
 Entrepreneurship is creating pathways where none existed before—combining curiosity, resilience, and collaboration to turn ideas into meaningful change.

Key Learnings / Challenges / Takeaways:

  • Learned how policy tools (like the CIR) influence migrant labor markets beyond economics—into identity and integration.
  • Faced challenges balancing econometric analysis (Synthetic Control Method) with human-centered ethnographic perspectives.
  • Discovered the importance of adapting methods when the data is incomplete or messy.

Mindsets in Action:

  • Accept & learn from failure: I reframed setbacks with messy datasets as learning opportunities to refine my models.
  • Invite exploration: I approached the project with curiosity, connecting political science with economics.
  • Let others help us: Faculty mentorship and peer feedback shaped the research direction.
  • A bias toward action: Rather than waiting for “perfect” data, I tested methods and iterated quickly.

Reframing: Looked at migration not just as an economic variable but as a lived experience shaped by politics.

The Project 

Project Description:

Migration is a central issue in European labor markets. Integration policies such as France’s Contrat d’Intégration Républicaine (CIR) are crucial for migrant employment, but their effects are underexplored. My project analyzed the CIR’s impact on migrant unemployment and labor incorporation, while also comparing similar policies in other European cities.

Key Learnings:

  • Primary: Interviews revealed challenges such as bureaucracy, language barriers, and recognition of foreign qualifications across different cities.
  • Secondary: SCM analyses showed varying effects:
    • CIR in France and integration policies in Paris improved short-term employment modestly.
    • Policies in Madrid and Rome had more heterogeneous effects due to sectoral differences.
    • Istanbul and Athens showed structural barriers limiting policy effectiveness, highlighting the importance of context-specific design.

Key Stakeholders:

  • Migrant communities in France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Greece
  • Local labor organizations & unions
  • National and municipal policymakers
  • NGOs supporting migrant integration

Project Outcome:

  • Developed a policy booklet (Bridging Migrant Borders) with recommendations tailored to each city.
  • Applied SCM methodology to quantify policy impacts.
  • Shared findings with faculty, peers, and policy stakeholders to foster discussion on improving integration policies across Europe.