Determinants of second language proficiency among refugees in the Netherlands

Little is known about the language acquisition of refugees in Western countries. This study examines how pre- and post-migration characteristics of refugees are related to their second language proficiency. Data are from a survey of 3,500 refugees, who were born in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, former Yugoslavia and Somalia, and who resided in the Netherlands. The analysis shows that speaking and reading skills are better among refugees who received more pre-migration schooling, who migrated from a major city, and who arrived in the host country at a younger age. Post-migration characteristics are also important. Language skills are better among refugees who only lived in a refugee reception center for a short while, who completed an integration course, who received post-migration education, who intend to stay in the host country, and who have fewer health problems

Ethnic Boundaries in Core Discussion Networks : A Multilevel Social Network Study of Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands

This study examines ethnic segregation of core discussion networks in the Netherlands. The analysis is based on Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study, a large-scale survey of the Dutch population aged 15–45 that contains an oversample of first- and second-generation immigrants from Turkey and Morocco, the two largest non-western immigrant groups in Holland. Results show that among Turks and Moroccans, more than 75% of the confidants are co-ethnic multilevel logistic models of these ego networks which suggest that ethnic closure in core discussion networks of Turks and Moroccans is stronger among women, foreign-born immigrants, those who live in immigrant concentration areas and those who are culturally more dissimilar to the Dutch to (i.e., who speak Dutch less well, who more strongly participate in Muslim practices and who identify stronger with their ethnic group). Results further suggest that the socio-economic gradient in ethnic boundaries is due to both cultural and economic homophily

Ethnic Boundaries in Core Discussion Networks : A Multilevel Social Network Study of Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands

This study examines ethnic segregation of core discussion networks in the Netherlands. The analysis is based on Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study, a large-scale survey of the Dutch population aged 15–45 that contains an oversample of first- and second-generation immigrants from Turkey and Morocco, the two largest non-western immigrant groups in Holland. Results show that among Turks and Moroccans, more than 75% of the confidants are co-ethnic multilevel logistic models of these ego networks which suggest that ethnic closure in core discussion networks of Turks and Moroccans is stronger among women, foreign-born immigrants, those who live in immigrant concentration areas and those who are culturally more dissimilar to the Dutch to (i.e., who speak Dutch less well, who more strongly participate in Muslim practices and who identify stronger with their ethnic group). Results further suggest that the socio-economic gradient in ethnic boundaries is due to both cultural and economic homophily

A comparative perspective on intermarriage: explaining differences in marriage choices among national origin groups in the United States

Little is known about the validity of group-level theories of ethnic intermarriage despite the fact that such theories are often invoked in explaining why certain ethnic groups are “closed,” whereas others are relatively “open.” We develop a comparative perspective by analyzing the marriage choices of 94 national-origin groups in the United States, using pooled data from the Current Population Surveys, 1994–2006, and multilevel models in which individual and contextual determinants of intermarriage are included simultaneously. Our analyses show large differences in endogamy across groups. After taking compositional effects into account, we fi nd that both structural and cultural group-level factors have signifi cant effects on endogamy. Cultural explanations (which focus on the role of norms and preferences) play a more important role than structural explanations (which focus on meeting and mating opportunities). Our results reinforce the common but untested interpretation of endogamy in terms of group boundaries.

Mixed parents, mixed results : Testing the effects of cross-nativity partnership on children's educational attainment

In this article, we have used panel data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey (N = 3,337) to test several mechanisms (English proficiency, friends with native parents, parental socioeconomic status [SES], educational attitudes, bilingualism, and family stability) by which mixed parents (one native, one foreign-born) affect their children's educational attainment differently from immigrant parents (both foreign-born), using a multiple mediator model. We found that children from mixed parents benefited from higher parental human capital and a higher English proficiency and were set back by lower educational attitudes and less stable family situation. However, bilingualism offered no significant advantages or disadvantages for children of mixed parents. Having more friends from native-born parents had a surprising negative effect. The total indirect effect was slightly negative and a substantial negative direct effect of growing up with mixed parents on educational attainment remains. Some of the effects depend on the sex of the native partner. Implications and limitations are discussed

Religious attendance in cross-national perspective: a multilevel analysis of 60 countries

Why are some nations more religious than others? This article proposes a multilevel framework in which country differences in religious attendance are explained by contextual, individual, and crosslevel interaction effects. Hypotheses from different theories are simultaneously tested with data from 60 nations obtained from the European/World Values Surveys. Multilevel logistic regression analyses show that religious regulation in a country diminishes religious attendance and that there are only small negative effects of people’s own education and average educational level of the country. Religious attendance is strongly affected by personal and societal insecurities and by parental and national religious socialization and level of urbanization. These theories explain 75% of the crossnational variation in religious attendance.

Inequality in Access to Social Capital in the Netherlands

Whereas much research has been done on the benefits of social capital, less is known about the causes of the unequal distribution of social capital in people’s networks. This study examines inequalities in access to social capital in terms of the socio-economic resources that are embedded in personal networks. Using data from NELLS, a nationally representative survey of the Dutch population aged 15–45 years, results show that within this age group access to social capital increases with age and educational qualifications, and is lower among women. Residing in a less affluent neighbourhood and scoring lower on a measurement for cognitive abilities are associated with less social capital. Participation in voluntary associations and having an ethnically diverse network are associated with more access to social capital. Surprisingly, when studying differences across national origin groups, we do not find that Turkish immigrants are disadvantaged in access to social capital

The impact of origin- and host-country schooling on the economic performance of immigrants

This study examines the economic returns to schooling acquired in the country of origin and the country of destination. It uses large-scale survey data on Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese and Antillean immigrants in the Netherlands, which contain direct measures of pre- and post-migration schooling. It is studied whether the returns to origin-country schooling depend on contextual factors: i.e., immigrant group and the region of living. Furthermore, we examine the importance of host-country schooling for labor market outcomes and if these can be partly explained by increasing contacts with natives. Results show that the returns to origin-country schooling are higher for Surinamese and Antillean immigrants (i.e., those originating from former Dutch colonies) than for immigrants from Turkey and Morocco. The returns to origin-country schooling are not affected by ethnic concentration in the region of living. Finally, it appears that the returns to host-country schooling are much larger than to origin-country schooling, and the higher returns to host-country schooling cannot be explained by increased social contacts with natives.

The conditional returns to origin-country human capital among Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in Belgium

Item does not contain fulltextThis study extends the analysis of the economic returns to pre-migration human capital by examining the role of the receiving context, co-ethnic residential concentration, and post-migration investments in human capital. It uses large-scale survey data on Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in Belgium. The analysis demonstrates that regarding employment, Moroccan immigrants, that is, those originating from former French colonies receive larger returns to their origin-country education and work experience in French- vs. Dutch-speaking regions. Other than the positive interaction effect between co-ethnic residential concentration and work experience on employment, there is little evidence that co-ethnic concentration increases the returns to origin-country human capital. Speaking the host-country language facilitates economic returns to origin-country work experience. Conversely, immigrants who acquire host-country credentials and work experience receive lower returns to origin-country education and experience, suggesting that, at least among low-skilled immigrants, pre- and post-migration human capital substitute rather than complement each other