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Analyzing Educational Achievement Differences between Second-Generation Immigrants: Comparing Germany and German-Speaking Switzerland

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  • Kunz Johannes S.

    (University of Zürich,Zürich, Germany)

Abstract

In this study, I provide evidence that the educational achievement of second- generation immigrants in German-speaking Switzerland is greater than in Germany. The impact of the first-generation immigrants’ destination decision on their offspring’s educational achievement seems to be much more important than has been recognized by the existing literature. I identify the test score gap between these students that cannot be explained by differences in individual and family characteristics. Moreover, I show how this gap evolves over the test score distribution and how the least favorably endowed students fare. My results suggest that the educational system of Switzerland, relative to the German system, enhances the performance of immigrants’ children substantially. This disparity is largest when conditioning on the language spoken at home, and prevails even when comparing only students whose parents migrated from the same country of origin.

Suggested Citation

  • Kunz Johannes S., 2016. "Analyzing Educational Achievement Differences between Second-Generation Immigrants: Comparing Germany and German-Speaking Switzerland," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 61-91, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:germec:v:17:y:2016:i:1:p:61-91
    DOI: 10.1111/geer.12062
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    Cited by:

    1. Black, Nicole & Kunz, Johannes S., 2024. "The intergenerational effects of language proficiency on child health outcomes: Evidence from survey- and Census-matched health care records," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 136-152.
    2. Andreas Beerli & Ronald Indergand & Johannes S. Kunz, 2023. "The supply of foreign talent: how skill-biased technology drives the location choice and skills of new immigrants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(2), pages 681-718, April.
    3. Diemer, Andreas, 2025. "The ‘acting native’ hypothesis: Evidence from classrooms in four European countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    4. Stefan C. Wolter & Maria Zumbuehl, 2017. "The Native-Migrant Gap in the Progression into and through Upper-Secondary Education," CESifo Working Paper Series 6810, CESifo.
    5. Mariagrazia Cavallo & Giuseppe Russo, 2020. "Reading Performance and Math Performance of Second-Generation Children in Italy," CSEF Working Papers 554, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    6. Iulian Gramațki, 2017. "A comparison of financial literacy between native and immigrant school students," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 304-322, May.
    7. Manuela Stranges & Daniele Vignoli & Alessandra Venturini, 2019. "“Comparison is the thief of joy”. Does social comparison affect migrants’ subjective well-being?," Discussion Papers 53, Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI).
    8. Manuela Stranges & Daniele Vignoli & Alessandra Venturini, 2019. ""Comparison is the thief of joy". Does social comparison affect migrants’ subjective well-being?," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2019_03, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    9. Nicole Black & Johannes S. Kunz, 2019. "The Intergenerational Effects of Language Proficiency on Child Health Outcomes," Monash Economics Working Papers 05-19, Monash University, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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