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The Labour Market Integration of Refugees in Germany: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Author

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  • Giesing, Yvonne
  • Battisti, Michele
  • Laurentsyeva, Nadzeya

Abstract

This paper estimates the causal effect of a job search support programme on the employment of asylum seekers in Germany. Asylum seekers typically need longer than other migrants to be successful in the host country's labour market. Individual skills such as education and labour market experience certainly play an important role. In addition to that, the job search process itself requires skills and institutional knowledge, which may be scarce among some groups, e.g. among newly arrived immigrants, non-economic migrants in particular. We believe the role of these frictions is an aspect that is very much understudied. We attempt to provide a rigorous evaluation of a program that aims at easing matching frictions. In particular, we design a field experiment to evaluate whether easing matching frictions affects the labour market integration of recent refugees in Germany. We interview around 400 job-seeking refugees attending job-counseling sessions of a Munich-based NGO. The participants are then randomly allocated to the treatment group and the control group. For the treatment group, the NGO identifies potentially suitable employers and, upon agreement of a job-seeker, sends a CV to those employers. This treatment can isolate the effect of frictions concerning the job search process, while it has no effect on the underlying skills of participants. We track individuals over time by conducting follow-up surveys of both the treatment group and the control group every six months. Preliminary results based on a limited sample show positive and significant treatment effects on employment after twelve months. Working with the full dataset, we will investigate the heterogeneity of treatment effects across skill groups and legal status, and the possible tradeoff between early employment and match quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Giesing, Yvonne & Battisti, Michele & Laurentsyeva, Nadzeya, 2018. "The Labour Market Integration of Refugees in Germany: Evidence from a Field Experiment," VfS Annual Conference 2018 (Freiburg, Breisgau): Digital Economy 181522, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc18:181522
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    Cited by:

    1. Hiba MOHAMMAD & Amira KOBEISSI, 2020. "Does The Refugees Go Better With Employment? An Online Survey About Employment Status Of Third Countries Refugees In Europe," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(1), pages 836-842, November.
    2. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Panu Poutvaara, 2019. "Refugees’ Self-selection into Europe: Who Migrates Where?," ifo Working Paper Series 289, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    3. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Panu Poutvaara, 2019. "Refugees’ Self-selection into Europe: Who Migrates Where?," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1901, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Refugees; labour market integration; matching frictions; field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy

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