The effect of health on refugees' labor market integration: Evidence from a natural experiment in Germany.

Autor/inn/en	Goßner, Laura; Jaschke, Philipp; Kosyakova, Yuliya
Titel	The effect of health on refugees' labor market integration: Evidence from a natural experiment in Germany.
Quelle	In: PLOS ONE, 21 (2026) 4, Art. e0346936, 17 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1932-6203
DOI	10.1371/journal.pone.0346936
Schlagwörter	Psychischer Faktor; Spracherwerb; Fremdsprachenkenntnisse; Gesundheitszustand; Krankenversicherung; Medizinische Versorgung; Berufliche Integration; Erwerbsbeteiligung; Auswirkung; Geschlechtsspezifik; IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Befragung von Geflüchteten; Verfügbarkeit; Ausländerin; Flüchtling; Deutschland
Abstract	"This paper analyzes the role of health for refugees' integration into host countries' labor markets. We exploit the quasi-random dispersal policies of refugees across regions in Germany to analyze the causal effect of health on employment. Based on regional and temporal heterogeneity in a policy adoption that provided earlier access to healthcare services through electronic health cards (eHCs), combined with the regional availability of healthcare services and pre-migration health status, we construct instrumental variables (IVs) providing plausibly exogenous variation in refugees' post-arrival health status. Our results reveal that favorable physical health (PCS) improves refugees' employment probability. Favorable mental health (MCS) increases only females' employment rates, although this effect must be scrutinized due to weak instruments. Regarding potential mechanisms, we provide evidence that better health increases language course participation and German language proficiency for female refugees." The study refers to the period 2016-2019 (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku).
Erfasst von	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Nürnberg
Update	2026/4