Social Determinants of Labor Market Status of Ethnic Minorities in Britain

The labor market behavior of ethnic communities in advanced societies and the social determinants of labor market outcomes of minority groups are important empirical issues with significant policy consequences. We use detailed micro-data on multiple-origin ethnic minorities in England and Wales to investigate the way different network-based social ties influence individual employment outcomes. We find that the core family structure and contacts with parents and children away (in Britain) increases the probability of self-employment. On the other hand, engagement in organizational social networks is more likely to channel people from ethnic minorities into paid employment. Finally, disaggregating different types of social networks along their compositional characteristics, we find that having ethnic friends is positively associated with the likelihood to be self-employed while integration in mixed or non-ethnic social networks facilitates paid employment among minority individuals. These findings hint at a positive role of social integration on employment opportunities of ethnic communities in host societies.labor market, self-employment, ethnic minorities, social ties

Social Determinants of Labor Market Status of Ethnic Minorities in Britain

The labor market behavior of ethnic communities in advanced societies and the social determinants of labor market outcomes of minority groups are important empirical issues with significant policy consequences. We use detailed micro-data on multiple-origin ethnic minorities in England and Wales to investigate the way different network-based social ties influence individual employment outcomes. We find that the core family structure and contacts with parents and children away (in Britain) increases the probability of self-employment. On the other hand, engagement in organizational social networks is more likely to channel people from ethnic minorities into paid employment. Finally, disaggregating different types of social networks along their compositional characteristics, we find that having ethnic friends is positively associated with the likelihood to be self-employed while integration in mixed or non-ethnic social networks facilitates paid employment among minority individuals. These findings hint at a positive role of social integration on employment opportunities of ethnic communities in host societies.labor market, self-employment, ethnic minorities, social ties

Intergenerational Transfer of Human Capital under Post-War Distress: The Displaced and the Roma in the Former Yugoslavia

In this chapter, we investigate the effects of vulnerability on income and employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia using a unique 2004 UNDP dataset. Treating the collapse of the former Yugoslavia as a natural experiment, we compare three groups that have been differently affected by the wars and post-war distress: the majority as the benchmark, the ex-ante and ex-post vulnerable Roma people, and the ex-ante equal but ex-post vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people (RIDPs). Our findings reveal significant negative effects of vulnerability on income and employment. RIDPs seem to be about as negatively affected as Roma across the four states, which indicate that vulnerability inflicted by relatively recent displacement may have similar effects as vulnerability rooted deep in the past. When we look at education as one of the key determinants of socio-economic outcomes, both groups exhibit similarly substandard educational outcomes of children and significant inertia in intergenerational transfer of human capital. Our findings highlight the need for policies that not only tackle vulnerability as such, but address the spillover effects of current vulnerability on future educational attainment.vulnerability, labor market, education, Roma, refugees, internally displaced people, discrimination, integration

Labor Market Outcomes of Immigrants and Non-Citizens in the EU: An East-West Comparison

The starkly different histories and institutions in the eastern and western member states of the European Union (EU) suggest different roles of being non-native in these two regions. In this paper we study the roles of foreign origin and citizenship in the comparative East-West perspective. Our results indicate that while it is immigrant status that is of key importance in the western EU member states, both immigrant status and citizenship matter in the eastern EU member states, their roles depending on gender. We find some evidence that it is the Russian ethnic minority in Estonia and Latvia that drives the relationships between being non-citizen and labor market outcomes that we find in the eastern EU member states.employment, earnings, labor market, Eastern Europe, citizenship, immigrant

International Migration, Ethnicity and Economic Inequality

While the allocative efficiency of mobility is typically considered to be positive but small in the long run, the induced changes in equality may be considerable in size. In practice, however, migrants typically improve their income position in comparison to those at home, stimulate the economic situation of the sending countries through remittances and rise the economic performance of natives and of capital in the host country through complementarities. The chapter suggests that at least skilled immigration promotes economic equality in the host country under standard conditions. The context is empirically documented und theoretically explained in a core model. Also, immigrant assimilation and selection is discussed, as is the role of ethnicity and ethnic identity for relative economic performance.ethnosizing, inequality, income distribution, migration, ethnicity, minority, assimilation, integration, Gini-coefficient

High-Skilled Immigration Policy in Europe

Whether Europe will be able to stand up to its internal and external challenges crucially depends on its ability to manage its internal mobility and inflows of international migrants. Using a unique expert opinion survey, we document that Europe needs skilled migrants, and skill mismatch is to be expected. A review of current immigration policies shows that despite a number of positive recent developments Europe lacks a consistent strategy to address this challenge effectively, paralyzed by the notion of "fortress" Europe, which we argue should be abandoned. Since significant political tensions can be expected between native actors that favor and disfavor further immigration, improving European immigration policies and procedures is a formidable challenge. This task involves the need to improve Europe's image among potential migrants, especially the high-skilled ones.European Union, Europe, mobility, high-skilled migration, immigration policy

A Policy Agenda for Diversity and Minority Integration

The social and labor market integration of ethnic minorities in the EU is still a major political, societal and economic challenge. Based on evidence presented in Kahanec and Zimmermann (2011), this policy paper proposes an agenda for diversity and minority integration in the European labor markets. Policies to foster the labor market and social integration of ethnic majorities can work. But they need to involve all stakeholders, including all levels of government, public and private sectors, as well as civil society organizations, combine general and targeted action in a balanced, complementary and reinforcing way, respond to the needs of the affected groups and provide open access to people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and be persistent and allow for time to become effective. Identification and transfer of good practices is essential.immigrants, ethnic minority, integration, diversity, labor market, diversity management, integration policy

Migration, the Quality of the Labour Force and Economic Inequality

Mobility of workers involves flows of labour, human capital and other production factors and thus contributes to a more efficient allocation of resources. Besides these effects on allocative efficiency, migrant flows affect relative wages and also change the international and national distribution of skills and thereby equality in the receiving society. This paper suggests that skilled immigration promotes economic equality in advanced economies under standard conditions. The context is theoretically explained in a core model and empirically documented using unique data from the WIID database and OECD.inequality, income distribution, human capital, skill allocation, migration, ethnicity, minority, Gini-coefficient

The Working Hours of Immigrants in Germany: Temporary versus Permanent

Migration is often viewed as an investment decision. Temporary migrants can be expected to invest less in accumulating human capital specific to the host country. Instead, they work more hours in order to accumulate savings and invest in financial capital that can be transferred back to their country of origin upon return. In this paper, using German panel data, we explore how temporary migrants differ from permanent migrants in their labor supply decisions and behavior. Upon correcting for endogeneity bias, temporary migrants are found to work more hours than permanent ones. This result supports the human capital theory and a household production model of migration where migrants may be temporary by choice and not because of legal restrictions or even a bad experience in the labor market.migration, temporary migrants, labor supply, Germany