Explaining Attitudes towards Immigration: New Pieces to the Puzzle

This paper deals with two hypotheses about factors influencing attitudes toward immigration in Germany. The first looks at how individuals' perceptions of their financial and job situation affect public opinion on immigration. The second hypothesis tests how these attitudes are affected by the beneficial/detrimental effect of immigration on the individual and constitutes the paper's central contribution to the literature. The findings presented here offer direct evidence through the use of data from the German Socio-Economic-Panel (SOEP), in contrast to the indirect measures such as education and income employed in most empirical tests to date.SOEP, Immigration, Opinion formation, Self-interest

The Party Identification of Germany's Immigrant Population: Parties Should Not Fear Eased Naturalization Requirements

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 Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) show that individuals with migration background develop diverse orientations to Germany's political parties in relation to their country of origin. The effect exercised by the country of origin is still present after many years of residence in Germany and among the second-generation. A large majority of individuals from the so-called "recruitment countries"-i.e. countries from which Germany acquired workers for its booming economy in the 1950s and 60s; namely, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal-identify politically with the SPD (Germany's mainstream labor party). By contrast, foreigners of German descent who have immigrated from Eastern Europe and Russia (so-called "Aussiedler" or "Spätaussiedler") tend to support the CDU/CSU (Germany's traditional conservative party alliance). Germany's smaller political parties find relatively little support among immigrants and their offspring. While extremely diverse party identifications are witnessed among migrants depending on their country of origin, these differences can only be minimally attributed to social circumstances or basic ideological outlook. Model calculations show that eased naturalization laws would not provide an appreciable advantage to any single political party.Migrants, Political behavior, SOEP

Who Can Become German?: Xenophobia and Attitudes Towards Naturalization

Germans are opening up to the topic of immigration: According to the representative data of this report, less and less Germans without a migration background feel threatened by immigration. Also, their attitude towards naturalization has changed. The question "What is the decisive factor for granting German nationality?" is now answered differently than in the 1990s. A significant part of the population without migration background considers ethnic German descent as less important. More and more Germans, however, believe that individual behavior should be the decisive factor for naturalization. In contrast, this doesn't necessarily imply a decline of xenophobia: Persons placing high importance on behavior and cultural adaptation have equally frequent xenophobic tendencies as persons considering ethnicity to be more important. Still, the number of Germans feeling strong hostility towards strangers went down at large.immigration, xenophobia, naturalization

Above-Average Rise in Immigrant Poverty: Poverty Often Concomitant with Other Types of Deprivation

The years 1998 to 2003 were marked by a deterioration in the economic situation of the German population with an immigrant background as the share of immigrants living below the poverty line increased at an above average rate. The older and younger age groups in this segment of the population are particularly prone to poverty. The Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) survey, which is carried out by the DIW Berlin in collaboration with the Infratest Social Research Institute, shows that 28% of children and young people aged under 20 with an immigrant background were living in precarious circumstances in 2003. The share of native Germans of the same age living in such circumstances was substantially lower, albeit still disturbingly high at 20%. Citizens of Turkish origin, in particular, are frequently found living below the poverty line. Immigrants from Western countries, by contrast, live comparatively rarely in poverty. Naturalised Germans are better off on average than foreign nationals, although this is not true for ethnic Germans. The fact that poverty is not a transitory phenomenon but an enduring condition for many immigrants is particularly alarming. Only improved education and training will solve this problem in the long term. The recruitment of foreign labour, the admission of refugees and the return of ethnic German settlers from former Eastern Bloc countries have culminated in large waves of immigration to Germany over the last 50 years. On official figures, over seven million foreign nationals and over four million ethnic Germans are living in Germany today. Germany still has a net migration surplus, although it has diminished significantly in recent years.

Top down or bottom up? A cross-national study of vertical occupational sex segregation in twelve European Countries

Starting with a comparative assessment of different welfare regimes and political economies from the perspective of gender awareness and pro-women policies, this paper identifies the determinants of cross-national variation in women's chances of being in a high-status occupation in twelve West European countries. Special emphasis is given to size and structure of the service sector, including share of women in public employment and structural factors such as trade union density and employment protection. The first level of comparison between men and women concentrates on gender representation in the higher echelons of the job hierarchy, while in the second section we extend the scope of analysis, comparing women in high-status occupations and low-wage employment in order to allow for a more nuanced study of gender and class interaction. The first analysis is based on European Social Survey data for the years 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008, capturing recent trends in occupational dynamics. Results indicate that in general a large service sector and a high trade union density enhance women's chances of being in a high-status occupations while more specifically a large public sector helps to reduce channeling women in low-wage employment. Thus, equality at the top can well be paired with inequality at the bottom, as postindustrial countries with a highly polarized occupational hierarchy such as the UK show. --occupational sex segregation,gender equality,public sector employment,cross-national comparison

Fremdenfeindlichkeit und Einstellungen zur Einbürgerung

Die Deutschen öffnen sich dem Thema Zuwanderung: Immer weniger Deutsche ohne Migrationshintergrund, so zeigen die repräsentativen Daten dieses Berichts, fühlen sich durch Zuwanderung bedroht. Auch beim Thema Einbürgerung hat ein Wandel stattgefunden. Auf die Frage "Was ist für die Vergabe der deutschen Staatsbürgerschaft entscheidend?" antworten die Deutschen inzwischen anders als noch in den 90er Jahren. Ein großer Teil der Bevölkerung ohne Migrationshintergrund hält die ethnisch deutsche Abstammung für wenig wichtig. Immer mehr Deutsche glauben hingegen, dass vor allem das Verhalten der Menschen für die Einbürgerung ausschlaggebend sein sollte. Ein Rückgang der Fremdenfeindlichkeit ist damit jedoch nicht zwangsläufig verbunden: Wer das Verhalten und die kulturelle Anpassung als die wichtigeren Faktoren erachtet, weist genauso häufig stark fremdenfeindliche Einstellungen auf wie jemand, der ethnische Zugehörigkeit für bedeutsamer hält. Insgesamt sank aber die Anzahl der Deutschen mit stark ausgeprägten fremdenfeindlichen Einstellungen.immigration, xenophobia, naturalization

Success Despite Starting out at a Disadvantage: What Helps Second-Generation Migrants in France and Germany?

The educational and employment trajectories of migrant children in France and Germany are extremely diverse. The few successful ones dominate the public eye. Yet successful biographies of young adults with a migration background are in no way a negligible exception. However, the picture is different in the two countries: while in France more migrants' descendants manage to reach their (secondary?) general qualification for university entrance in Germany they are overrepresented particularly at the Hauptschule (general secondary school). It is, however, considerably more difficult for these young people in France to gain a long-term foothold in the labor market, while in Germany they often take the chance to acquire a vocational qualification and have better job opportunities. As part of a three-year research project, the question examined was which social and institutional factors can stabilize educational attainment and professional orientation. On the basis of qualitative interviews, which were conducted with young adults with a migration background in four disadvantaged areas of Berlin and Paris, it is possible to name three factors that play an important role in the success and/or the stabilization of early educational and employment trajectories: the support provided by significant third parties, entry into milieus which are more socially and culturally diverse, and the prospect of a "second chance."Migration, integration, second generation, education, labor market, trajectories

Authentic Happiness Theory Supported by Impact of Religion on Life Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Analysis with Data for Germany

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey (SOEP), this paper assesses the relationship between life satisfaction and religious practice. The main new result here is longitudinal. It is shown that individuals who become more religious over time record long term gains in life satisfaction, while those who become less religious record long term losses. This result holds net of the effects of personality traits, and also in fixed effects panel models. The paper has significant implications for the dominant, paradigm theory in SWB research, namely set-point theory. This theory holds that the long term SWB of adult individuals is stable, because SWB depends on personality traits and other stable genetic factors. It is already clear from the German panel data that about 20% of the population have recorded large long term changes in SWB. New evidence in this paper and elsewhere about the effects of consciously chosen life goals, including religious ones, on SWB is hard to reconcile with set-point theory. It is more in line with authentic happiness theory.SWB, life satisfaction, set-point theory, authentic happiness theory, longitudinal analysis, SOEP

Das enttäuschte Versprechen der Integration: Migrantennachkommen in Frankreich und Deutschland

Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit den sozialstrukturellen Voraussetzungen, die der Dynamik bzw. dem Ausbleiben von Protestverhalten zu Grunde liegen. Ausgehend von drei theoretischen Erklärungsansätzen wird empirisch anhand von repräsentativen Mikrodaten gezeigt, dass die Konzeption der Integration der Migrantennachkommen durch die Staatsbürgerschaft und die Schule in Frankreich als ein Versprechen der Integration verstanden werden kann, das im Übergang auf den Arbeitsmarkt strukturell enttäuscht wird. Demgegenüber setzt die Ausgrenzung von Migrantennachkommen in Deutschland schon im Bildungssystem ein, so dass größere Erwartungshaltungen gar nicht erst entstehen. Die Revolten der jungen MigrantInnen in Frankreich können damit u.a. als Ergebnis von strukturell enttäuschten Erwartungen interpretiert werden.Integration, Zweite Generation, Migration, Deutschland, Frankreich

Einkommensarmut bei Zuwanderern überdurchschnittlich gestiegen: Armut häufig mit Unterversorgung in anderen Lebensbereichen gekoppelt

Die ökonomische Lage der in Deutschland lebenden Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund hat sich von 1998 bis 2003 relativ verschlechtert; unter den Zuwanderern ist der Anteil der in Armut Lebenden überdurchschnittlich gestiegen. Besonders hoch ist die Betroffenheit von Armut bei den Älteren und Jüngeren. Das vom DIW Berlin in Zusammenarbeit mit Infratest Sozialforschung erhobene Soziooekonomische Panel (SOEP) zeigt, dass im Jahre 2003 28 % der Kinder und Jugendlichen mit Migrationshintergrund im Alter von unter 20 Jahren in prekären Verhältnissen lebten. Bei den gleichaltrigen "Einheimischen" waren es deutlich weniger, wenngleich mit 20 % ebenfalls beunruhigend hoch. Vor allem Bürger türkischer Herkunft sind häufig von Einkommensarmut betroffen. Dagegen leben Migranten aus westlichen Ländern vergleichsweise selten in Armut. Eingebürgerte schneiden im Durchschnitt besser ab als Ausländer; dies gilt allerdings nicht für Aussiedler. Überaus bedenklich ist, dass Armut für viele Zuwanderer nicht ein vorübergehendes Phänomen, sondern ein dauerhafter Zustand ist. Dieses Problem kann langfristig nur durch bessere Bildung und Ausbildung gelöst werden.