The socio-cultural integration and economic adaptation of Palestinian immigrant in Turkey: An exploration of their integrati̇on experi̇ence

The dissertation studies Palestinian immigrants in Turkey and examines their socio economic integration and economic adaptation through exploring their immigration experience in the Turkish society. We are using data collected through personal interviews and compare outcomes as major factors like age, gender, years of residency, social network, social and cultural engagement, and the racism views are significantly influence both the decision making process of moving to Turkey and staying in the host country, in order to ensure that the results can be given a causal interpretation. The results show that the Palestinians who are in youth group had substantially greater shares of higher educations, higher communications social and cultural engagement, and higher beliefs of acceptance among their natives. The effects are mostly driven by higher exposure and participation in variety of interactions with Turks and other ethnic groups, in particular at the residential and work market. We also find some effects on educational attainment, employment rates and wages, although these effects are much more limited in magnitude. We also analyze new comers and show that the decision of residing in Turkey still under uncertainty factor, which implies that the outcomes of the social integration process are still not fully completed for Palestinian in particular who reside for less than a decade. Longer years of residency has a particularly strong impact on the integration and adaptation process of immigrants. Key words: migration, integration, assimilation, social- cultural integration, social network.