Asylum Policies

Higher welfare benefits significantly reduce criminal charges among refugees, with limited repercussions for their labor market participation.

Publication: external page Social Assistance and Refugee Crime

Resources: Download Research Brief (German) (PDF, 455 KB)

Media coverage: external page SRF Swiss Radio and Television (German), external page SRF Swiss Radio and Television (German), external page Swiss Refugee Council (German), external page Tagesanzeiger (German)

Asylum-seekers forced to wait for years while their applications are processed are less likely to find employment.

Publication: external page When Lives are Put on Hold: Lengthy Asylum Processes Decrease Employment among Refugees

Media Coverage: external page Neue Zürcher Zeitung (German), external page NCCR on the move, external page Jyllands-Posten (Danish), external page Heise Online (German), external page Business World, external page Wiener Zeitung (German), external page Tages-Anzeiger (German), external page swissinfo, external page Bloomberg Business

Imposing employment bans on newly arrived refugees lowers their long-term employment rates and makes them less motivated to integrate.

Publication: external page The Long-Term Impact of Employment Bans on the Economic Integration of Refugees

Resources: Download Research Brief (PDF, 273 KB)

Media Coverage: external page ORF Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (German), external page Phys.org, external page swissinfo (Italian), ETH News (German)

Restricting refugees' employment opportunities reduces their labor market integration and earnings in the long run.

Publication: external page The Labor Market Effects of Restricting Refugees' Employment Opportunities

Resources: Download Research Brief (German) (PDF, 523 KB)

Media Coverage: external page Blick (German)

Algorithmic assignment of asylum seekers to places which are better suited for their labor market integration could significantly increase refugee employment levels.

Publication: external page Improving Refugee Integration through Data-Driven Algorithmic Assignment

Resources: Download Research Brief (PDF, 85 KB)

Media Coverage: external page BBC News, external page Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (German), external page SRF Swiss Radio and Television (German), external page Süddeutsche Zeitung (German)

New asylum seekers are more likely to be employed if they live close to a larger group of people who share their nationality, ethnicity or language.

Publication: external page Ethnic Networks Can Foster the Economic Integration of Refugees

Resources: Download Research Brief (PDF, 267 KB)

Media Coverage: external page Neue Zürcher Zeitung (German), external page Forbes, external page Cato Institute, external page Sverige Radio (Swedish)

Measuring Integration

We developed a standard module to measure integration levels across immigrant communities and build comparable knowledge about integration which can inform policy development.

Publication: external page A Multi-Dimensional Measure of Immigrant Integration

Resources: external page IPL Integration Index Homepage