Sociology Seminar: Thursdays

Time: 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm –
Date: 27th of January 2022
Place: Visio

Lucas DROUHOT (Utrech University) – “ Intergenerational Social Mobility Among the Children of Immigrants in Western Europe: Between Assimilation and Disadvantage ”

Abstract :

Are Western European countries successfully incorporating their immigrant populations? Past research efforts are abundant, but yield a mixed picture of either worse, comparable or better outcomes in schools, neighborhoods and labor markets among the children of immigrants compared to native populations. In this paper, we approach immigrant incorporation as a process of intergenerational social mobility and argue that mobility trajectories are uniquely suited to measure assimilation and gauge the influence of immigrant origins on life chances. We analyze absolute and relative levels of intergenerational mobility among second-generation and native populations in seven European countries, and report two major findings. First, we document a master trend of assimilation, in which the destiny of the second-generation is primarily determined by social class – rather than immigrant – background. However, disaggregating results by regional origins reveal substantially worse mobility outcomes among the African-origin second generation, for whom class of origin has a weaker influence on class of destination. We document substantial penalties in class attainment, and find that children of African immigrants originating from the top are much less likely than upper-class natives to reproduce their class status in adulthood. Such second-generation disadvantage strongly qualifies the aggregate pattern of assimilation we otherwise document.

(Co-authored with Mauricio Bucca).

Organizers :
Sofian EL ATIFI, Etienne OLLION, Patrick PRÄG (Pôle de Sociologie du CREST)
Sponsors :
CREST