The work by Max Steinhardt and Vera Jahn on "Immigration and New Firm Formation – Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Setting in Germany" has been published at the International Migration Review.

In their work the authors provide new insights into the economic impact of international migration by analyzing how immigration can affect business formation in the host country. For this purpose, they exploit a placement policy in Germany in the 1990s for immigrants of German descent from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (Aussiedler). The empirical results at the regional level suggest that immigration had a positive impact on firm formation. The most likely mechanism driving this result is a positive implication of population diversity, while entrepreneurial activities of ethnic Germans and supply-side aspects seem to be of minor importance for the findings.