Much of the current German debate about the integration of immigrants overlooks the fact that Germany is not solely a country of immigration, but also - and to a substantial degree - a country of emigration. One of the largest groups of emigrants is made up of Germans themselves. The percentage of German natives in the total population of emigrants has risen substantially over the last few years. In ...
Remittances from Germany are substantial. Cross-border transfers to family and friendship networks outside Germany are not only made by foreigners. Many naturalized migrants send money home as well. Here, we focus on international networks and gender-specific determinants of remittances from the senders' perspective, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the years 2001-2006. ...
2010| Elke Holst, Andrea Schäfer, Mechthild Schrooten
Remittances from Germany are substantial. Cross-border transfers to family and friendship networks outside Germany are not only made by foreigners. Many naturalized migrants send money home as well. Here, we focus on transnational networks and gender-specific determinants of remittances from the senders' perspective, based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the years 200 ...
2010| Elke Holst, Andrea Schäfer, Mechthild Schrooten
Individuals with a migration background represent a steadily increasing percentage of Germany's population. Although the majority of individuals with migration background lack German citizenship and are therefore unable to vote, the number of naturalized immigrants continues to rise. Accordingly, political parties have been showing greater interest in this group of potential voters. Data from the German ...
The main aim of the present paper is to historically reappraise the development of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) in the 1990s after the first six waves had been collected. This development was closely connected to the opening of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe and the fall of the Wall separating the two German states. In addition to its relevance for the SOEP, this study is also of ...
This paper empirically examines social network explanations for migration decisions in the context of German reunification. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we first show that the presence of a family in West Germany is an important predictor for the migration hazard rate of East Germans. We then explore whether pre-migration networks have a discernible impact on the economic ...
In:
Economics of Transition
17 (2009), 4, S. 739-767
| Helmut Rainer, Thomas Siedler
This research examines the strength of people's ties with close neighbours and the sensitivity thereof to changes in residential mobility, access to modes of public and private transport, and changes in the availability of modern communications technologies using the German Socio-economic Panel Study (SOEP). All forms of mobility have increased over time and are negatively associated with visiting ...
The determinants of migrants' remittances are the subject of this study based on German SOEP data (2001-2006). In contrast to previous studies we analyze the motives for remittances not only for foreigners but also for the broader group of individuals with a personal migration background. Major findings are: First, concerns about xenophobia lead to higher remittances. Second, income and gender has ...
2008| Elke Holst, Andrea Schäfer, Mechthild Schrooten
Economic disruption in East Germany at the time of unification resulted in a noticeable drop in life satisfaction. By the late 1990s East Germany's life satisfaction had recovered to about its 1990 level, and its shortfall relative to West Germany was slightly less than that before unification. In West Germany life satisfaction was fairly constant before unification, but subsequently trended moderately ...