Segregation, Entrepreneurship and Work Values: The Case of France

Abstract

This paper studies the interaction between labor market integration, the evolution of "work values" and entrepreneurial capital inside minority communities. A simple model of labor market segmentation with ethnic capital and endogenous transmission of cultural values inside the minority group is presented. It emphasizes the role of entrepreneurial capital as an important driver of labor market integration and as a promoter of meritocratic work values inside the community. The case of South European and North African second generation immigrants in France is then empirically studied as an example, contrasting strongly how the differential economic and cultural integration in the labor market correlates with the differential level of entrepreneurial capital of the two communities.

Keywords: social capital, ethnic segmentation, work values, labor discrimination

JEL Classification: J15, J61, J7, Z13