Assimilation without groups?

In "Origins and Destinations", Luthra, Soehl and Waldinger aim at "extending the canon" in research on immigrant integration. They do so by studying group and individual level characteristics across a large number of origin groups, thereby replacing group labels with theoretically relevant variables at the group level. In this review, three challenges in this endeavour are discussed: First of all, the analyses do not allow to disentangle the impact of group and individual level characteristics for all variables alike. Secondly, a primary data collection more tailored to the specifics of their conceptual framework is needed. This would many conclusions about how contexts of emigration and immigration truly matter above and beyond individual characteristic on a more solid ground. And third, the authors' aim to abandon the use of origin group categories in empirical research on immigrant integration may come at a price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]