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VOX CEPR Policy Portal

2022

Christina Vonnahme, Christina Gathmann

Citizenship policies and educational performance of immigrant children

Becoming a citizen helps adult immigrants improve their economic position and benefits the host country. This column explores how citizenship policies for immigrants in Germany affect educational outcomes of immigrant children. Citizenship improves the children’s school performance, lowering repetition rates and closing most of the immigrant-native gap in maths. It also increases the share of immigrant children on the academic track at high school. More liberal birth-right citizenship would bring larger improvements in school performance than facilitating naturalisation.

Vonnahme, C. and C. Gathmann (2022), Citizenship policies and educational performance of immigrant children. VOX CEPR Policy Portal, 17.11.2022.

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