ZEW Workshop on Assimilation and Integration of Immigrants

The recent displacement of millions of people from Middle Eastern and North African countries constitutes a major economic, political and social challenge for host countries. Questions subsequently arise concerning not only the factors and necessary policy interventions required to facilitate the fast integration of refugees, but also the economic and political impact of the inflow of immigrants on host populations. In addition, there is a need to better understand how the socioeconomic situation of immigrant groups, as well as the economic conditions and institutions in various host countries might serve to moderate these impacts. Finally, existing evidence on the effects of voluntary migration may be limited in providing relevant information about the likely impacts of recent migration flows. It must be asked to what degree results from existing migration and assimilation literature can be applied to forced migration.The aim of the workshop is to bring together international researchers from the field of migration research in order to present and discuss recent empirical, theoretical and policy-oriented research in the area of assimilation and integration of immigrants. We encourage contributions from all areas of economics.