Does It Take One Or Two to Tango
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Does It Take One Or Two To Tango? Language Skills, Physical Appearance, and Immigrant Integration in Germany by Anne-Katrin Wickboldt S.M. Political Science M.I.T., 2001 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER 2008 ©2008 Anne-Katrin Wickboldt. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: ___________________________________________________ Department of Political Science August 31, 2008 Certified by: __________________________________________________________ Nazli Choucri Professor of Political Science Thesis Supervisor Accepted by: _________________________________________________________ Ed Steinfeld Chairman, Graduate Program Committee Does It Take One Or Two To Tango? Language Skills, Physical Appearance, and Immigrant Integration in Germany by Anne-Katrin Wickboldt Submitted to the Department of Political Science on August 31, 2008 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Abstract Breaking with a long-held political stance that Germany is, despite a sizeable share of permanent immigrant residents, not a country of immigration, the German legislature has drawn up a new immigration law, which entered into force in January 2005. It states a new commitment to integrate legal immigrants into German society by teaching them German and acquainting them with the legal, cultural, and historical precepts of the German state and society. To gauge the role of the host society in the integration process, I use a three- pronged methodological approach to evaluate the influence of physical appearance and several other potentially salient attributes of immigrants on integration outcomes. Statistical analysis of recent census data provides a general picture of economic integration outcomes of foreign national residents in Germany. More specific information gathered by way of a structured survey among second generation immigrants in Germany allows me to investigate deeper levels of integration using variables geared more narrowly to my research question. Finally, qualitative interviews provide valuable insights into whether and to what extent immigrants themselves perceive language skills and physical appearance, as well as other issues, as shaping their integration experience. Overall, my analysis suggests that language proficiency is a strong predictor of economic integration. The impact of physical appearance, by comparison, is negligible. The survey suggests that despite high levels of cultural, social, and identificational integration, immigrants still feel disadvantage as a function of their cultural difference from the host society. They also universally report having and cherish ties to both German and their society of origin. In-depth interviews suggest that second generation immigrants, although aware of a certain degree of discrimination, do not see it as a major issue. Still, lasting emotional attachment to Germany could be boosted by policies that show genuine acceptance of immigrants’ perceived or real ties to two cultures and communities, and recognize the assets they entail. Thesis Supervisor: Nazli Choucri Title: Professor of Political Science 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements........................................................................................................7 List of Figures................................................................................................................8 List of Tables .................................................................................................................9 Introduction..................................................................................................................10 Chapter 1 Migration in Germany after the Second World War ...............................14 1.1. Immigration to Germany after the Second World War ...........................14 1.1.1. Ethnic German expellees, Aussiedler and resettlers ........................15 1.1.2. Guest workers..................................................................................18 1.1.3. Asylum seekers and refugees...........................................................19 1.2. Current demography of the German resident population ........................21 1.3. Spatial distribution within Germany........................................................23 1.4. The central argument of my thesis...........................................................25 Chapter 2 Conceptual and theoretical landscape......................................................28 2.1. Clarifying the concepts ............................................................................30 2.1.1. Ethnicity, race and physical appearance ..........................................30 2.1.2. Integration........................................................................................36 2.1.3. Assimilation .....................................................................................36 2.2. Mapping the pertinent theoretical landscape ...........................................45 2.2.1. The nature of boundaries in society.................................................46 2.2.2. Hartmut Esser: Who is to blame for social distance? ......................54 2.2.3. Milton Gordon: Why does integration fail?.....................................64 2.2.4. John Berry: Is integration feasible? .................................................75 2.3. On methodological triangulation.............................................................82 Chapter 3 Statistical analysis....................................................................................85 3.1. Data characteristics..................................................................................85 4 3.1.1. Independent variables......................................................................88 3.1.2. Dependent variables.........................................................................95 3.1.3. Control variables............................................................................106 3.2. Model Specification...............................................................................111 3.3. Regression results..................................................................................112 Chapter 4 Structured survey ...................................................................................127 4.1. Methodological considerations..............................................................127 4.1.1. Sampling methodology and survey scope......................................128 4.1.2. Survey mode ..................................................................................129 4.1.3. Survey design.................................................................................132 4.2. Recruitment strategy and respondent profile .........................................137 4.3. Survey analysis......................................................................................143 4.3.1. Independent Variables...................................................................143 4.3.2. Dependent Variables......................................................................150 4.3.3. Descriptive Statistics......................................................................176 Chapter 5 Qualitative interviews ............................................................................184 5.1. Methodological considerations..............................................................184 5.1.1. Sampling methodology and sample size........................................184 5.1.2. External and internal validity.........................................................186 5.1.3. Interview mode..............................................................................187 5.1.4. Interview structure.........................................................................190 5.2. Recruitment strategy and interviewee profile........................................194 5.3. Interview analysis..................................................................................197 5.3.1. General mood.................................................................................199 5.3.2. Evaluations of the status quo .........................................................204 5.3.3. Expressed causal inferences surrounding study variables .............215 Chapter 6 Conclusion and policy implications.......................................................229 Appendices.................................................................................................................238 5 Correlation table for the statistical analysis ......................................................239 Original survey instrument................................................................................241 Original interview guide ...................................................................................262 References..................................................................................................................263 6 Acknowledgements I owe gratitude to many people who saw me through this project. First and foremost, I would like to thank my dissertation committee. Professor Nazli Choucri patiently stood by