Migration, Friendship Ties, and Cultural Assimilation

Giovanni Facchini, Eleonora Patacchini and Max Steinhardt ()

No 10032, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: In this paper we contribute to the analysis of the assimilation process of migrants by analyzing the extent to which friendship with natives can be seen as a measure of cultural assimilation and investigating the formation of social ties in the host country. Using novel information from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we find that migrants with a German friend are more similar to natives than those without a local companion along several important dimensions, including concerns about the economy, interest in politics and broad policy issues like the environment, crime, and xenophobia. When looking at the determinants of friendship acquisition, we find that becoming employed is a significant driver of social network variation. Other factors affecting ties with the native population include the number of years the migrant has spent in the country, the birth of a child, residential mobility and additional education in the host country.

Keywords: Culture; Ethnic minorities; Friendship formation; Migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A14 J15 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-mig, nep-soc and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Migration, Friendship Ties, and Cultural Assimilation (2015)
Working Paper: Migration, Friendship Ties and Cultural Assimilation (2014)
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