The Impact of Xenophobic Violence on the Integration of Immigrants

45 Pages Posted: 17 Sep 2018

See all articles by Max Friedrich Steinhardt

Max Friedrich Steinhardt

Free University of Berlin (FUB) - Department of Business and Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Centro Studi Luca D'Agliano (LdA); Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI)

Abstract

Integration of immigrants is a two-way process involving immigrants and the host country society. An underexplored question is how events of xenophobic violence in the host country affect the integration of immigrants. For this purpose, I exploit a unique series of anti-immigrant attacks in the early 1990s in West Germany. Using a difference-in-differences matching strategy, I find that macro exposure to xenophobic violence has an impact on several dimensions of socio-economic integration of immigrants. In particular, it reduces subjective well-being and increases return intentions, while it reduces investment in German language skills among those staying in Germany. From a policy perspective, this paper shows that anti-immigrant violence can have indirect costs by impairing the integration of those immigrants who belong to the target group of xenophobic attacks.

Keywords: immigration, integration, xenophobia, hate crimes

JEL Classification: A14, J15, J61

Suggested Citation

Steinhardt, Max Friedrich, The Impact of Xenophobic Violence on the Integration of Immigrants. IZA Discussion Paper No. 11781, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3249895 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3249895

Max Friedrich Steinhardt (Contact Author)

Free University of Berlin (FUB) - Department of Business and Economics ( email )

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