The research questions in my ongoing projects address current problems in migration and integration research. The projects also have a strong interdisciplinary character and establish mutual references, especially between sociology and economics. National and international cooperation with leading migration researchers, innovative analyses with Big Data, as well as cross-national comparative research designs increase the scientific competitiveness of the IAB. Longer-term cooperative relationships with university and non-university research institutions in Germany and abroad promote IAB’s internationalization efforts.
International Mobility Panel of Migrants in Germany (IMPa)
Return and onward migration raises numerous new research questions that are of high political, societal and socio-economic relevance. However, existing data on return migration is sparse and contradictory, making precise analysis difficult.In the planned project, a survey of returnees and emigrants will be developed to address questions on return migration and circular migration.
SUARE I: Longitudinal Study of Ukrainian Refugees (DFG).Refugee migration and Labor Market Integration
The project establishes the data infrastructure building on the survey instruments developed in the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees. At the same time, it conducts its own research on key issues related to flight from Ukraine and the social and structural integration of refugees from Ukraine.
SUARE II: Longitudinal Study of Ukrainian Refugees (DFG). Institutional Contexts and Family Decisions in the Integration Process of Ukrainian Refugees
The project examines the medium- and long-term trajectories of Ukrainian refugees in Germany, focusing on the interplay between labour market integration, family and gender dynamics, migration, return and onward-migration decisions, and institutional contexts. It also contributes to the further development of the Longitudinal Study of Ukrainian Refugees as a research data infrastructure.
Refugee Return: Policies, Incentives, and Return Decisions
The project examines how different policy instruments shape refugees’ willingness to return to their country of origin. Using a pre-registered survey experiment among Ukrainian refugees, it studies the causal effects of economic incentives and institutional support — including wages, financial assistance, housing, healthcare, and childcare — on return choices and intentions. The project also examines heterogeneity in policy responses and how uncertainty and institutional conditions shape return decision-making.
UNEQUAL TRAJECTORIES:Spatial dynamics in refugees‘ multidimensional integration (Leibnitz Competition)
Unequal trajectories examines the role of the residential environment and of residential mobility in the integration of two cohorts of refugees in Germany: those who arrived around the year 2015, and Ukrainians who arrived after February 24th 2022. Using innovative analytical approaches and detailed data from various sources, the project investigate what kinds of neighborhoods different refugee groups settle in, and how these neighborhoods, and mobility between them, shape the social, economic and cultural integration of adults and the development of children. The project generates evidence necessary for the design of effective refugee accommodation policies. Unequal trajectories in funded by the Leibnizgesellschaft under the SAW competition program.