SOEP Research: Migration and Integration

The link between family networks and mental health for exogamous couples in old age

In later life, social ties become increasingly important for one’s mental health. In this study, we test whether exogamous unions, in which one of the partner is migrant and one native, affect older individual’s social networks, and whether the association between exogamy and mental health operates through social networks. We hypothesize that immigrants gain social...

Can We Compare Conceptions of Democracy in Cross-Linguistic and Cross-National Research? Evidence from a Random Sample of Refugees in Germany

This study addresses the heated academic and public debate on the compatibility and comparability of refugees’ and host societies’ democratic values. Comparative values research has long capitalized on global similarities and differences in support for Western democratic values. We argue that such cross-cultural comparisons of culturally diverse groups are challenged by (1) different conceptions of ...

Real Incomes Increasing, Low-Income Rate Decreasing in Individual Age Groups

The number of employed persons in Germany has grown by over five million since 2000, in part due to an increase in immigration. This development is reflected in private household income, which has increased by 12 percent over the same period. Since 2013, all income groups have been benefiting from this increase and in 2015, the lowest income decile began benefiting as well. Disposable income inequality ...

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Ultrabrief Mental Health Screeners Phq-4 and SF-12 in Germany

The testing of measurement invariance (MI) across different cultural backgrounds for short screeners of mental health has been mostly neglected. Therefore, we examined MI in the most common mental health screeners worldwide used to assess the psychological indicators of health among migrants and refugees: the Short-Form-12 Health Survey (SF-12) for health-related quality of life and the Patient Health ...

Labour Market Participation of Refugees in Germany: Legal Context and Individual-level Factors

Labour market access is a crucial aspect of integration. Among other things, it providesmigrants with economic resources to participate in societal life in the hostcountry. This chapter explores the factors of labour market access for refugees inGermany. First, we provide a brief overview of how labour market access is determinedby legal status. Second, we explore individual aspects of labour market ...

The Situation of Female Immigrants on the German Labour Market: A Multi-Perspective Approach

While general ethnic disadvantages are well documented, much less is known about coinciding disadvantages of ethnic origin and gender. Based on theoretical arguments of human capital theory, sociocultural approaches, labour market segmentation theory, and discrimination mechanisms, we investigate whether immigrant women experience more difficulties on the labour market than immigrant men, non-immigrant ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...