Ethno-religious neighbourhood infrastructures and the life satisfaction of immigrants and their descendants in Germany

Urban research assigns immigrant enclaves an ambiguous role. While such areas are seen as rich in beneficial ethno-religious infrastructures and networks, they also tend to be located deprived stigmatised inner-city neighbourhoods. Research on neighbourhood attainment provides evidence for both, a desire attain mainstream middle-class neighbourhoods, which grows the more immigrants their descendants establish themselves society, but continuing attraction of residing close co-ethnics. To tease apart this ambiguity, we study how life satisfaction depends characteristics live in, pay special attention heterogeneity along generation, country origin orientation income. We use classic measures quality vis-à-vis newly collected data spatial density minority associations, places worship grocers. link these geocoded German Socio-Economic Panel predict among descendants. strengthen causal interpretation our results, employ specifications that address self-selection into neighbourhoods unobserved confounding. Contra assumptions standard assimilation models, document contribute increased primarily second there especially sending-country oriented individuals. This suggests importance origin-culture some groups. Furthermore, find little overall quality, or mere share co-ethnics neighbourhood, increases either