SOEP Research: Migration and Integration

An Investment in the Future: Institutional Aspects of Credential Recognition of Refugees in Germany

Adding to the rich literature on the economic integration of refugees, this article extends the scope towards the role of institutions by focusing on the transfer of human capital by means of credential recognition. The 2012 Federal Act of Recognition in Germany is a new institution that provides the possibility to study the transfer of human capital in depth. I argue that analysing the decision for ...

First Time Around: Local Conditions and Multi-dimensional Integration of Refugees

We study the causal effect of local labor market conditions and attitudes towards immigrants at the time of arrival on refugees’ multi-dimensional integration outcomes (economic, linguistic, navigational, political, psychological, and social). Using a unique dataset on refugees, we leverage a centralized allocation policy in Germany where refugees were exogenously assigned to live in specific counties. ...

Mentoring Programs Support the Integration of Refugees

Over a million people sought asylum in Germany between 2014 and 2016. During this time, many Germans began volunteering in various ways to help refugees and mentorship pro- grams in particular gained significance. As this report shows, participating in a mentorship program has a positive impact on refugees: They improve their language skills and become more socially active. Mentors experience the relationship ...

Agents of Socialization and Female Migrants’ Employment: The Influence of Mothers and the Country Context

Women around the world are on the move but find it difficult to secure jobs. Employment is vital for migrant integration as it affords financial security, autonomy in the family and helps to establish social contacts. Besides human capital, previous research has looked into ethnic origin and specific source country aspects as drivers of female migrant employment. By contrast, ideas of adolescence as ...

Household Income and Wealth among People with a Migration Background: A Comparison of Switzerland and Germany

The Economic Research Potentials of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study

We provide a concise introduction to a household-panel data infrastructure that provides the international research community with longitudinal data of private households in Germany since 1984: the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). We demonstrate the comparative strength of the SOEP data in answering economically-relevant questions by highlighting its diverse and impactful applications throughout ...

Migrants’ Missing Votes

Emigrants are less likely to participate in elections in their home country. They are also selfselected in terms of education, gender, age, and political preferences, changing the structure of the origin population. High emigration rates can therefore have a systematic influence on election results. Using administrative migration and voting data, we show that counties in Poland that have experienced ...

Living Conditions and the Mental Health and Well-being of Refugees: Evidence from a Large-Scale German Survey

Refugees are at an increased risk of mental health problems and low subjective well-being. Living circumstances in the host country are thought to play a vital role in shaping these health outcomes, which, in turn, are prerequisites for successful integration. Using data from a representative survey of 4325 adult refugees who arrived in Germany between 2013 and 2016, we investigated how different living ...

Psychological Distress among Refugees in Germany: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Individual and Contextual Risk Factors and Potential Consequences for Integration Using a Nationally Representative Survey

Objectives Responding to the mental health needs of refugees remains a pressing challenge worldwide. We estimated the prevalence of psychological distress in a large refugee population in Germany and assessed its association with host country factors amenable to policy intervention and integration indicators.Design A cross-sectional and population- based secondary analysis of the 2017 wave of the IAB- ...

Refugees’ High Employment Expectations: Partially Met

This report compares employment expectations among refugees in Germany in 2016 with their actual employment situation in 2018, using the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees in Germany. In 2016, the majority of refugees reported that the probability they would find employment within two years was high. Employment expectations were met by 54 percent of all refugees; yet 35 percent of refugees who articulated ...