Skilled labour immigration: a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the EU

Abstract Labour migration is of great economic and social importance. We use a factorial survey experiment to analyse under which criteria predominantly employed citizens approve of immigration of skilled workers from outside the EU to Germany. The criteria of the German Skilled Immigration Act for...

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Main Authors: Richard V. Wolff, Olaf Struck, Christopher Osiander
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-07-01
Series:Journal for Labour Market Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-025-00402-4
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author Richard V. Wolff
Olaf Struck
Christopher Osiander
author_facet Richard V. Wolff
Olaf Struck
Christopher Osiander
author_sort Richard V. Wolff
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Labour migration is of great economic and social importance. We use a factorial survey experiment to analyse under which criteria predominantly employed citizens approve of immigration of skilled workers from outside the EU to Germany. The criteria of the German Skilled Immigration Act for Qualified Professionals and procedural rules for checking qualifications as well as alternatives frequently discussed in the political sphere are taken into account. We find that the willingness to accept labour migrants is positively associated with (a) migrants having a definitive job offer, (b) holding (certified) professional qualifications and (c) the presence of skilled worker shortages in an industry. The vast majority of citizens favour the provisions of the act. They would also accept even less rigorous checks on qualifications.
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spelling doaj-art-b777e43d20864ff3b4fafa0726e5eced2025-08-20T03:42:40ZengSpringerOpenJournal for Labour Market Research2510-50272025-07-0159111910.1186/s12651-025-00402-4Skilled labour immigration: a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the EURichard V. Wolff0Olaf Struck1Christopher Osiander2Sociology Department, University of BambergSociology Department, University of BambergResearch Coordination, Institute for Employment Research (IAB)Abstract Labour migration is of great economic and social importance. We use a factorial survey experiment to analyse under which criteria predominantly employed citizens approve of immigration of skilled workers from outside the EU to Germany. The criteria of the German Skilled Immigration Act for Qualified Professionals and procedural rules for checking qualifications as well as alternatives frequently discussed in the political sphere are taken into account. We find that the willingness to accept labour migrants is positively associated with (a) migrants having a definitive job offer, (b) holding (certified) professional qualifications and (c) the presence of skilled worker shortages in an industry. The vast majority of citizens favour the provisions of the act. They would also accept even less rigorous checks on qualifications.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-025-00402-4Factorial survey experimentLabour marketOccupational closureOnline surveyQualifications
spellingShingle Richard V. Wolff
Olaf Struck
Christopher Osiander
Skilled labour immigration: a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the EU
Journal for Labour Market Research
Factorial survey experiment
Labour market
Occupational closure
Online survey
Qualifications
title Skilled labour immigration: a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the EU
title_full Skilled labour immigration: a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the EU
title_fullStr Skilled labour immigration: a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the EU
title_full_unstemmed Skilled labour immigration: a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the EU
title_short Skilled labour immigration: a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the EU
title_sort skilled labour immigration a vignette analysis on the willingness to accept migrants from outside the eu
topic Factorial survey experiment
Labour market
Occupational closure
Online survey
Qualifications
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-025-00402-4
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