Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/287434 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of International Migration and Integration [ISSN:] 1874-6365 [Volume:] 23 [Issue:] 2 [Publisher:] Springer Netherlands [Place:] Dordrecht [Year:] 2021 [Pages:] 815-845
Publisher: 
Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht
Abstract: 
Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel for 1984–2018, we analyze the intergenerational education mobility of immigrants in Germany by identifying the determinants of differences in educational stocks for first- and second-generation immigrants in comparison to individuals without a migration background. Our results show that on average, first-generation immigrants have fewer years of schooling than native-born Germans and have a disproportionate share of lower educational qualifications. This gap is strongly driven by age at immigration, with immigration age and education revealing a nonlinear relationship. While the gap is relatively small among individuals who migrate at a young age, integrating in the school system at secondary school age leads to large disadvantages. Examining the educational mobility of immigrants in Germany, we identify an inter-generational catch-up in education. The gap in education between immigrants and natives is reduced for the second generation. Finally, we find that country of origin differences can account for much of the education gap. While immigrants with an ethnic background closer to the German language and culture show the best education outcomes, immigrants from Turkey, Italy, and other southern European countries and especially the group of war refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other MENA countries, have the lowest educational attainment.
Subjects: 
Immigration
Education
Human capital
Education differentials
Intergenerational education mobility
Educational assimilation
Germany
SOEP
JEL: 
F22
I21
J24
J61
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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