SOEP Research: Migration and Integration

Support for Everyone or Selection of Some? Self-Selection and Assignment Into a Large-Scale Refugee Mentoring Program in Germany

Mentoring has become a popular support strategy for recently arrived immigrants and refugees, offering access to valuable information and resources. However, little is known about selection processes into mentoring programs—who chooses to enrol, who receives support, and whether these patterns are systematic. Such selection affects not only program evaluations but also broader issues of refugee integration ...

Exploring Integration and Migration Dynamics: The Research Potentials of a Large-Scale Longitudinal Household Study of Refugees in Germany

Forced migration has intensified in the 21st century, driven by conflicts, persecution, and political instability in regions such as the Middle East, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, South-East Asia, Latin America and, most recently, Ukraine. Germany has become a primary destination for refugees within the European Union and one of the largest among the OECD countries. The IAB-BAMF-SOEP Refugee Survey, ...

The Value of Care: Brokering Work Conditions and Wages within a Transnational Care System

This article explains how the triadic brokering system in the European Union affects the conditions of work and pay of mobile care workers. Using original survey data gathered from Polish care workers in Germany, the authors found that workers earn less money the more hours they work. Based on qualitative interviews with care workers and representatives of labor market intermediaries, they argue that ...

Conditional Permanent Residency and Refugee Integration: Evidence from Germany's 2016 Reform

This study examines the 2016 reform of Germany's Residence Act that intended to foster refugee integration by extending the waiting period for permanent residency from three to five years and introducing requirements, such as proficiency in German and partial financial independence. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we employ a difference-in-differences design to analyse...

Improving Migration Outcomes: A Mentoring Experiment and its Network Effects in Senegal (with Bernd Beber, Zara Riaz, and Juni Singh)

In this paper we study the effectiveness of a randomized migration mentoring program, and the role of network embeddedness at origin, for migration decisions and outcomes in rural Senegal. The mentoring program improves job expectations when migrating, migration experiences, and economic outcomes. When the mentoring is attended by randomly assigned migrant from the origin village, positive...

Unintended Consequences of COVID-19 Public Health and Social Measures in Camps and Camp-Like Settings: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Analysis

Objectives: This study examines unintended consequences (UIC) of public health and social measures (PHSM) in camps and camp-like settings and assesses the pathways through which these UIC arise. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and conceptual analysis of UIC from PHSM aimed at preventing SARS-CoV-2 spread in these settings. PHSM were classified using the WHO taxonomy and the CONSEQUENT framework ...

Refugees Are Feeling Increasingly Unwelcome and Perceiving Discrimination in the Labor and Housing Markets

The sentiment among refugees in Germany has changed significantly: Using Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data from 2016 to 2023, it can be seen that refugees have been feeling increasingly unwelcome since 2018, while their concerns about xenophobia have grown since 2019. In addition, cross-sectional data from 2022 refugees’ subjective experiences of discrimination in the workplace and when searching for ...

Refugees are feeling increasingly unwelcome and becoming more concerned about xenophobia

The Impact of Private Hosting on the Integration of Ukrainian Refugees in Germany

Amid the Ukrainian displacement crisis, private hosting of refugees in Europe has surged, yet its impact on integration remains understudied. This research examines the short- to medium-term effects of private hosting on Ukrainian refugee integration in Germany. Using data from one of the largest non-profit platforms that matches private hosts with refugees, we compare the multidimensional integration ...

More refugees who came to Germany between 2013 and 2019 are naturalizing or applying to naturalize