Abstract
This study analyses the selection of recently arrived asylum seekers from Middle Eastern and African countries in Germany. The findings suggest that, on average, asylum seekers have 22 percent more years of schooling—the indicator used for human capital—when compared to same-aged persons from their country of origin. In addition, it is shown that asylum seekers in the sample often accumulated rather low or relatively high levels of schooling compared to same-aged persons in their countries of origin. This phenomenon is even more pronounced for parental education. It is demonstrated that the indicators of individual and parental human capital influence short-run integration outcomes in Germany, while work experience in the home country does not. The paper discusses potential economic explanations for the findings on immigrant selection and integration outcomes.
Highlights
Recent immigration of refugees from primarily Middle Eastern and African countries to Europe renewed concerns about the economic and social costs of humanitarian immigration
Our results suggest that the parental background, for which information is absent in most studies, has no influence on short-term integration outcomes
5 Conclusion In this study, the human capital selection of a sample of 203 young male asylum seekers from Middle Eastern and African countries living in Germany is investigated
Summary
Recent immigration of refugees from primarily Middle Eastern and African countries to Europe renewed concerns about the economic and social costs of humanitarian immigration. By comparing individual years of schooling as an indicator of human capital to age-gender specific country of origin averages, we seek to deduce whether the asylum seekers in our sample are, on average, a positively or negatively selected group of the home country’s population. We provide an empirical analysis of this question using data on host country language proficiency and employment Results suggest that those asylum seekers in the sample who acquired more years of schooling perform better on a German language test, and in finding employment. Individual and parental years of schooling exhibit a correlation of 0.45 in our sample They cover different as well as related factors relevant for the selection of asylum seekers and their integration outcomes. Data on average years of schooling in home countries have been calculated based on Barro and Lee (2013). p-values are based on a two-sided t-tests of differences in means between years of schooling of asylum seekers or their parents and their respective home country peers
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