This article investigates the settlement structures of foreigners and, specifically, of Turks, ex-Yugoslavs, Italians, Greeks and ex-Soviets in Germany. The main data source is the as yet unexploited dataset of the Inner-city Spatial Observatory, complemented by data from the 2005 sample census and city statistics. Immigrant settlement is shown to be widely dispersed across west German cities. Within cities, ethnic neighbourhoods are rare. Immigrants typically live in multi-ethnic environments. Although differences exist between national groups, the level of ethnic residential concentration is relatively low in Germany. Hypotheses on the reasons for these findings are developed, focusing on the historical circumstances of migration, the structure of the German housing market, immigrant-specific state intervention as well as ethnic group differences regarding financial resources, discrimination and ethnic preferences.
This article contributes to the broader scientific debate on how the state generates and modifies life chances of individuals and social groups by highlighting a specific way of institutional (re-)production of social inequalities: it explores the nature and impact of immigrant-specific state intervention. Building on the concept of “modes of incorporation” by Portes and colleagues, a theoretical section explicates how specific contexts of reception by the host government may impact on integration outcomes. An empirical study applies this model to Germany – an example of moderate socio-economic immigrant selection, but extensive legal stratification. I demonstrate substantial effects of differential government reception and legal status on socio-economic outcomes among adult immigrants and their children. A concluding section outlines how the model presented here could help advance comparative studies of immigrant incorporation.
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