Irma Clots-Figueras (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)
Abstract
The integration of immigrants is constantly a subject of public debate, and measures to foster assimilation of newcomers are central in the political agenda of many countries. This paper focuses on the legal institution of citizenship and analyzes the consequences of the introduction of birthright citizenship in Germany. Exploiting the exogenous variation provided by the 1999 reform of the German nationality law, we study the effect of child legal status on the cultural integration of immigrant parents. We find evidence that foreign born parents are more likely to interact with the local community and use German language when their children are entitled to German citizenship at birth.