Seeking Asylum in Germany: Does Human and Social Capital Determine the Outcome of Asylum Procedures?

The outcome and duration of asylum procedures are vital for staying perspectives of refugees, and the following economic and social integration in the host society. In principle, persecution and other forms of violation of human rights should solely determine the outcome of asylum procedures according to the Geneva Convention and the asylum legislation in Europe. However, some previous evidence indicates that the asylum procedure outcome may be subject to socio-economic selectivity. If this is true, unequal chances for recognition of asylum application and length of these process may contribute to the cumulative (dis-)advantages over the life course. Using a recent longitudinal household data, the IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Survey of Refugees in Germany, we investigate whether and how human and social capital characteristics affect the duration and outcomes of the asylum procedure. Our results evidence that higher socioeconomic status and social networks' support increase the probability of recognition of the asylum application. Throughout the analysis, we control for variables which capture the violation of human rights and other forms of violence, changes in asylum policies and country-of-origin-specific fixed effects. Our findings turn out to be robust to different specifications. Altogether, we conclude that the overarching aim of the asylum process, granting asylum to those who are in need of protection for reasons of violence and persecution seems to be diluted by social and economic factors, which are relevant for the outcomes and the length of asylum processes as well. As Germany has emerged as the dominant destination of asylum-seekers in the OECD, the study is in our view of general interest for an understanding of the forces which drive asylum procedures in developed countries.