Immigration and integration

This research line focuses on the integration of immigrants and their children in Western societies. Integration not only concerns ethnic minorities, but also how the broader society—including the majority group—changes and responds.

We examine integration from two perspectives:

1. Structural Integration
How do people from different ethnic backgrounds perform in the labor market and at school? We examine opportunities and obstacles, such as discrimination, access to social networks, and differences in (parental) education and skills. We also study how environmental diversity plays a role: in inclusive environments, individuals' qualities are often assessed more honestly, while in less diverse contexts, stereotypes more readily influence assessments, opportunities, and careers.

2. Socio-Cultural Integration
Here, we examine how people from different backgrounds live together: interethnic contacts, mutual attitudes, polarization, radicalization, anti-immigration sentiments, and segregation in social networks. Themes such as language acquisition and religion are also included. Diverse environments can have positive effects here: they offer more opportunities for contact, understanding, and breaking down prejudices.

This line of research is innovative because we compare different ethnic groups and multiple countries. We also use advanced methods that allow us to track integration processes over time and across different networks to better understand how people develop within ever-changing, diverse societies.

Examples of our research

Team