The department investigates migration and the integration of immigrants as well as their consequences for the German and European labour markets. The focus is on the following key questions: what are the key causes and determinants of refugee-  and other international migration movements? What are the consequences of increasing international migration, especially the recent refugee migration for the German and European labour markets and for the sustainability of social security systems? Which factors are decisive for the long-term integration of immigrants and refugees into the labour market, the education system, and society?

In addition, the research department addresses other aspects of internationalization such as international trade and outsourcing and investigates their impact  on labour markets such as employment, wages, and further education. Finally, the department analyses the influence of the institutions of the labour market and the welfare state from an internationally comparative perspective. As an example, we explore strategies of integrating unemployed into labour markets and assess these strategies in the respective institutional settings.

The department furthermore contributes to the establishment of a research infrastructure by conducting to longitudinal surveys on immigrants in Germany: the first survey, the IAB-SOEP-migration sample, is a general survey covering immigrants arriving in Germany since the 1990s. This survey allows studying the individual drivers of migration, the human capital- and personal characteristics of immigrants as well as all aspects of their integration into the labour market, the educational system and society. The second survey, the IAB-BAMF-SOEP-refugee survey, covers refugees arriving in Germany since 2013. This survey comprises inter alia information on the human capital, behavioural- and other individual characteristics of refugees, their legal-, social- and structural integration, the circumstances of war, persecution and displacements as well as during the refugee migration process. This provides not only a unique database for studying all aspects of refugee migration as well as their integration in Germany. It also generates the main source for evidence-based advice for policy-makers and the public audience in the complex areas of migration and integration in Germany and abroad.