Research Proposal:
Abstract:
An economic aspect of this research proposal is to look at the unemployment rate for Turkish immigrants in comparison with that for the local Germans. Even though the government provides job-training programs for school leavers, participation of Turks in the job-training program is lower than that of German youths, which might lead to fewer and less paid career choices for immigrants.
Background:
At the beginning of the 20th century, migration from Turkey to Germany was largely due to the economic and political connection between the Ottoman and German empires. The second phase of migration was because of German companies’ large request of cheaper labor in heavy industries. During that period, Turkish immigrants rose to a peak of 617,531 people. Even though the recruitment policy was abolished later that century, the number of Turkish people was still rising at a fast rate because of the family reunion and Turkish children born in Germany (Worbs, 2003).
The large influx of foreign labor in Germany was believed to have great impact on local labor market including rising unemployment rate and decreasing wage for local Germans. However, the study by Pischke and Velling proves that the assumption is actually affected by many variables like participation rate of foreign workers and the class variation of different workers. So there is no direct evidence to prove that foreign labor has any negative impact on the local labor market (Pischke& Velling, 1997). By comparison, the immigrants are put in a much more inferior position in a new social context due to their disadvantages in education and language skills (Kogan, 2004). If these are the factors that prevent guest-worker immigrants from integrating into the society, ethnic discrimination definitely plays a large role in the job attainment for the second-generation immigrants.
It is important that the local and global communities understand what kind of employment situation Turkish immigrants are facing right now, since they are the largest immigration group in Germany. Having a job opportunity is the only way to ensure a stable living standard. If this basic right is violated simply because of their immigration identity, it will be unfair for Turkish youths who get the same education and speak the same language as the local German youths. So, in this research project, I will investigate whether the immigration identity prevents them from getting equal job opportunities as local Germans and how does this affect immigrants’ living standard.
Question:
My question is that how does the Turkish immigrant’s identity as first generation immigrants and second generation immigrants affect their acceptance in the job training system and their future career choices?
Racial inequality still plays a large role in German labor market. Even though second generations in Germany get the same education and speak the same language as their peers, they still don’t have the same job opportunities as the local youths. One aspect of the disparity can be shown in the dual system in Germany. A dual system has two parts, the first part is the apprenticeships in a company and second part is vocational education at a vocational school (Faist,1993). This job-training program helps students get fully prepared for future careers. However, participation of Turks in the job-training program is 2 times lower than that of German youths, and the unemployment rate among Turkish youths is 2 times higher than that of local German youths (Faist, 1993). So, the ethnic inequality still prevents immigrations from getting the same work opportunities as the local Germans. Moreover, even though Turkish youths can get into the job-training program, their career choices in the future might be limited. According to the study, most of the Turkish immigrants have the “traditional” occupations like auto mechanic, electrician, painter, hairdresser and doctor’s receptionist, but they don’t have easy access to IT sector (Worbs, 2003).
The discussion of employment situation in Germany is related to my major, but this topic is not only restricted to the Economics perspective. Unlike the common factors that affect people’s opportunity of getting a job, including education background, interpersonal skills and work experience, immigrants are also affected by their identity. In the United States, racial discrimination still exists in the workforce even with the enforcement of law. So, identity is an inevitable consideration when discussing employment situation in multiracial countries.
Cultural Sensitivity:
As a Chinese student studying in America, my perspective is usually a mixture of Chinese culture and American culture. In China, there is not much racial issue, so that people won’t get discriminated against in the work force or have disparity in access to getting jobs. The only factors that will affect Chinese getting a job are their education level and interpersonal relations. So, this topic is exciting for me since I have never experienced the racial inequality in my country.
However, as an international student in America, I do experienced or heard many stories about racial disparity in getting a job. Due to various policies, it is really hard for international students to find a job in the U.S. There are strict restrictions of hiring international students, especially for certain job types like doctors, nurses and lawyers. Even though America is a culturally diverse country, it still has certain stereotypes towards race. For example, people always assume that all Asians are good at engineers and computers so that they should be working in related areas like IT or industrial companies. Just like the Turkish immigrants in Germany, most of them have the “traditional” occupations like auto mechanic, electrician, painter, hairdresser and doctor’s receptionist, but they don’t have easy access to IT sector (Worbs, 2003). This unequal distribution of workers in the labor market can also reflect racial inequality.
Daily Schedule:
Berlin:
Week1:
People: Meet with professors or students in the Economics Department at Humboldt University.
Place: Humboldt University
Equipment: Phone, pen, notebook.
Information: I will mainly ask about their opinion of the unemployment situation in Germany, especially for immigrants. I will ask about whether their University is doing any research related to my topic so that we probably can discuss more about that.
Week 2:
People: Meet with students in the dual education system.
Place: A vocational school called OSZ IMT (address: Haarlemer Straße 23-27
12359 Berlin)
Equipment: Phone, pen, notebook.
Information: I will interview the stuff and students in that school. I will ask the stuff members about the participation of local German students and Turkish students in their school.
Week 3:
People: Meet with students who are doing vocational training in the companies.
Place: Private companies in the dual education system. (Need to check whether this is possible)
Equipment: Phone, pen, notebook.
Information: Interview with the students and employers in the company.
Jena:
People: Professors and students in Jena University
Place: Jena University
Equipment: Phone, pen, notebook
Information: Interview with the students and professors.
References:
Faist, T. (1993). From school to work: public policy and underclass formation among
young Turks in Germany during the 1980s. International Migration Review, 306-
331.
Kogan, I. (2004). Last hired, first fired? The unemployment dynamics of male
immigrants in Germany. European Sociological Review, 20(5), 445-461.
Pischke, J. S., & Velling, J. (1997). Employment effects of immigration to Germany:
an analysis based on local labor markets. Review of Economics and
Statistics, 79(4), 594- 604.
Worbs, S. (2003). The Second Generation in Germany: Between School and Labor
Market1. International Migration Review, 37(4), 1011-1038.
Abstract:
An economic aspect of this research proposal is to look at the unemployment rate for Turkish immigrants in comparison with that for the local Germans. Even though the government provides job-training programs for school leavers, participation of Turks in the job-training program is lower than that of German youths, which might lead to fewer and less paid career choices for immigrants.
Background:
At the beginning of the 20th century, migration from Turkey to Germany was largely due to the economic and political connection between the Ottoman and German empires. The second phase of migration was because of German companies’ large request of cheaper labor in heavy industries. During that period, Turkish immigrants rose to a peak of 617,531 people. Even though the recruitment policy was abolished later that century, the number of Turkish people was still rising at a fast rate because of the family reunion and Turkish children born in Germany (Worbs, 2003).
The large influx of foreign labor in Germany was believed to have great impact on local labor market including rising unemployment rate and decreasing wage for local Germans. However, the study by Pischke and Velling proves that the assumption is actually affected by many variables like participation rate of foreign workers and the class variation of different workers. So there is no direct evidence to prove that foreign labor has any negative impact on the local labor market (Pischke& Velling, 1997). By comparison, the immigrants are put in a much more inferior position in a new social context due to their disadvantages in education and language skills (Kogan, 2004). If these are the factors that prevent guest-worker immigrants from integrating into the society, ethnic discrimination definitely plays a large role in the job attainment for the second-generation immigrants.
It is important that the local and global communities understand what kind of employment situation Turkish immigrants are facing right now, since they are the largest immigration group in Germany. Having a job opportunity is the only way to ensure a stable living standard. If this basic right is violated simply because of their immigration identity, it will be unfair for Turkish youths who get the same education and speak the same language as the local German youths. So, in this research project, I will investigate whether the immigration identity prevents them from getting equal job opportunities as local Germans and how does this affect immigrants’ living standard.
Question:
My question is that how does the Turkish immigrant’s identity as first generation immigrants and second generation immigrants affect their acceptance in the job training system and their future career choices?
Racial inequality still plays a large role in German labor market. Even though second generations in Germany get the same education and speak the same language as their peers, they still don’t have the same job opportunities as the local youths. One aspect of the disparity can be shown in the dual system in Germany. A dual system has two parts, the first part is the apprenticeships in a company and second part is vocational education at a vocational school (Faist,1993). This job-training program helps students get fully prepared for future careers. However, participation of Turks in the job-training program is 2 times lower than that of German youths, and the unemployment rate among Turkish youths is 2 times higher than that of local German youths (Faist, 1993). So, the ethnic inequality still prevents immigrations from getting the same work opportunities as the local Germans. Moreover, even though Turkish youths can get into the job-training program, their career choices in the future might be limited. According to the study, most of the Turkish immigrants have the “traditional” occupations like auto mechanic, electrician, painter, hairdresser and doctor’s receptionist, but they don’t have easy access to IT sector (Worbs, 2003).
The discussion of employment situation in Germany is related to my major, but this topic is not only restricted to the Economics perspective. Unlike the common factors that affect people’s opportunity of getting a job, including education background, interpersonal skills and work experience, immigrants are also affected by their identity. In the United States, racial discrimination still exists in the workforce even with the enforcement of law. So, identity is an inevitable consideration when discussing employment situation in multiracial countries.
Cultural Sensitivity:
As a Chinese student studying in America, my perspective is usually a mixture of Chinese culture and American culture. In China, there is not much racial issue, so that people won’t get discriminated against in the work force or have disparity in access to getting jobs. The only factors that will affect Chinese getting a job are their education level and interpersonal relations. So, this topic is exciting for me since I have never experienced the racial inequality in my country.
However, as an international student in America, I do experienced or heard many stories about racial disparity in getting a job. Due to various policies, it is really hard for international students to find a job in the U.S. There are strict restrictions of hiring international students, especially for certain job types like doctors, nurses and lawyers. Even though America is a culturally diverse country, it still has certain stereotypes towards race. For example, people always assume that all Asians are good at engineers and computers so that they should be working in related areas like IT or industrial companies. Just like the Turkish immigrants in Germany, most of them have the “traditional” occupations like auto mechanic, electrician, painter, hairdresser and doctor’s receptionist, but they don’t have easy access to IT sector (Worbs, 2003). This unequal distribution of workers in the labor market can also reflect racial inequality.
Daily Schedule:
Berlin:
Week1:
People: Meet with professors or students in the Economics Department at Humboldt University.
Place: Humboldt University
Equipment: Phone, pen, notebook.
Information: I will mainly ask about their opinion of the unemployment situation in Germany, especially for immigrants. I will ask about whether their University is doing any research related to my topic so that we probably can discuss more about that.
Week 2:
People: Meet with students in the dual education system.
Place: A vocational school called OSZ IMT (address: Haarlemer Straße 23-27
12359 Berlin)
Equipment: Phone, pen, notebook.
Information: I will interview the stuff and students in that school. I will ask the stuff members about the participation of local German students and Turkish students in their school.
Week 3:
People: Meet with students who are doing vocational training in the companies.
Place: Private companies in the dual education system. (Need to check whether this is possible)
Equipment: Phone, pen, notebook.
Information: Interview with the students and employers in the company.
Jena:
People: Professors and students in Jena University
Place: Jena University
Equipment: Phone, pen, notebook
Information: Interview with the students and professors.
References:
Faist, T. (1993). From school to work: public policy and underclass formation among
young Turks in Germany during the 1980s. International Migration Review, 306-
331.
Kogan, I. (2004). Last hired, first fired? The unemployment dynamics of male
immigrants in Germany. European Sociological Review, 20(5), 445-461.
Pischke, J. S., & Velling, J. (1997). Employment effects of immigration to Germany:
an analysis based on local labor markets. Review of Economics and
Statistics, 79(4), 594- 604.
Worbs, S. (2003). The Second Generation in Germany: Between School and Labor
Market1. International Migration Review, 37(4), 1011-1038.