Germany: Intergenerational inequalities in the education system and the labour market for native-born children of immigrants from Turkey and the former Yugoslavia

Abstract

The chapter begins with a brief demographic sketch of Turkish and Yugoslav immigrants and their offspring in Germany based on data from 2012. It then describes their situation in the education system and in the labour market in 2000 and in 2012. In doing so it assesses how immigrant-native gaps vary across generations and over time, with separate analyses for men and women. The discussion explores the factors triggering intergenerational progress and change, exploring the extent to which a lack of educational attainment results in later disadvantage in the labour market. The most prevalent approaches to explaining group-specific trajectories are presented, with the focus on the ongoing disadvantage for those of Turkish descent. Factors other than educational attainment are also explored, namely by addressing the most important results from existing studies on the role of language skills, social ties and ethnic discrimination.