Take Me Home:

1
Take Me Home Determinants of Return Migration
Among Elderly Immigrants in Germany Jenjira J.
Yahirun UCLA Department of Sociology
California Center for Population Research
California Center for Population Research UCLA
Take Me Home Determinants of Return Migration
Among Later-Life Immigrants in Germany Jenjira J.
Yahirun
California Center for Population Research UCLA

• A frequently overlooked consequence of migration
  to post-war Europe and North America has been the
  aging of immigrants themselves.
• For immigrants, an importance decision will be
  whether to spend their later life in the new
  country or return home (Warnes Williams
  2006).
• Given that most later-life immigrants are
  married, return migration depends on individual
  as well as spousal characteristics.
• This project examines the determinants of return
  migration for later-life individuals and couples
  from Germany, a country whose share of elderly
  immigrants is increasing (BIVS 2006).

Figure 2 Survival curves show that the hazard
of return varies by sex and marital
status. Figure 3 shows the odds of return for
married versus single individuals by sex.
Note Base Single individuals (includes people
who are divorced, widowed, single or married with
non-resident spouses, N9,512 for men and N8,061
for women.
1949 Federal Republic of Germany founded. West
German economy continues post-war
expansion. 1955 to 1968 W. Germany signs guest
worker agreements with Italy, Spain, Greece,
Turkey, Portugal and the former
Yugoslavia. 1973 Energy Crisis - Guest worker
programs halted. 1973 to 1990 Family
reunification still sustains migrant flows. 1990
to 2005 Fall of Berlin wall. Arrival of ethnic
Germans from FSU. 2005 6.76 million
non-naturalized immigrants now living in Germany.
6.7 are 65 and older (BIVS).

• ADDITIONAL RESULTS
• For men, only the most recent era of immigration,
  compared to pre-1949 arrivals, significantly
  predicts return.
• Mens and womens parental status significantly
  decrease the likelihood of return.
• Age is a significant predictor of return. Men and
  women aged 61 to 66 are more likely to return
  than those aged 51.

Note BaseTurkey. N9,512 for men and N8,061
for women.
Note Base No U/E Benefits, No Disability/Old
Age Benefits, No Subsidized Housing N9,512 for
men and N8,061 for women.

• (Person-Years Characteristics)
• Circumstances of Immigration
• 68 entered Germany between 1949 and 1973
• Most represented country of origin is Turkey (see
  Figure 1)
• Economic Resources
• 53 elementary school
• educated or less
• 37 employed full-time
• 23 homeowners
• 1,412 average monthly
• household income
• Family Ties
• 81 married with
• co-resident spouse
• 73 parents
• Demographic

• ADDITIONAL RESULTS
• Differences in era of immigration are not
  significant for husbands or wives return.
• Age differences between couples is not
  significant for husbands return, but was
  significant for wifes return.
• For husbands, wifes vocational education is a
  significant predictor of return husbands
  education, however, is not a significant
  predictor of return for wives.
• For husbands and wives, only their own labor
  force characteristics are significant for return.

Circumstances surrounding immigration to Germany
affect the probability of return in two ways.
First, guest workers may be more likely than
other immigrants, such as ethnic Germans, to
return given the initial terms of their
migration. Second, variation in home country
conditions may affect immigrants differently.
Economic resources may also determine whether
some immigrants can afford to live out their
later lives in Germany. While some disadvantaged
immigrants may leave, program participation may
encourage others to stay (Borjas Bratsberg
1996).
SOURCES Berliner Institute fur Vergleichende
Sozialforschung. 2006. Integration Indicators
and Generational Change. Country Report
Germany. Borjas, G. and Bernt Bratsberg. 1996.
Who Leaves? The Outmigration of the
Foreign-Born. The Review of Economics and
Statistics. 78(1) 195-76. Klinthäll, Martin.
2006. Retirement Return Migration from Sweden.
International Migration. 44 (2) 154-180. Warnes,
Anthony M. and Allan Williams. 2006. Older
Migrants in Europe. Journal of Ethnic and
Migration Studies. 32(8) 1257-1281.
The Maybachufer market in Berlin, home to one of
Germanys largest immigrant populations
The author gratefully acknowledges Judith
Seltzer, Robert Mare and members of the
Mare-Seltzer working group for their comments and
suggestions.
Note Base Out of Labor Force
Note Base Less than Elementary School
Education
Family Ties affect decisions to emigrate based on
the obligations they involve. For later-life
immigrants, upward ties may bound individuals to
elderly parents in the home country, while
downward ties connect immigrants to children in
Germany.
Sample sizes for the husband-anchored file and
the wife-anchored file differ due to the way
samples were constructed. Mens wives entered the
sample as long as they turned 50 (or had reached
50) during the period of observation. In the
wife-anchored file, women entered the sample when
they turned 50 or had already reached 50 upon
entry into the survey. No restrictions for their
husbands were applied.