Naturalization Proclivities, Ethnicity and Integration

This paper studies the determinants of naturalization among Turkish and ex-Yugoslavimmigrants in Germany differentiating between actual and planned citizenship. Using theGerman Socio-Economic Panel, we measure the impact that integration and ethnicityindicators exert on the probability to naturalize beyond the standard individual and humancapital characteristics. A robust finding is that German citizenship is very valuable to femaleimmigrants and the generally better educated, but not to those educated in Germany. We findthat the degree of integration in German society has a differential effect on citizenshipacquisition. While a longer residence in Germany has a negative influence on actual or futurenaturalization, arriving at a younger age and having close German friends are strongindicators of a positive proclivity to citizenship acquisition...