Gender, Ethnic Identity and Work

31 Pages Posted: 7 Jan 2007

See all articles by Amelie F. Constant

Amelie F. Constant

Princeton University; UNU-MERIT; CESifo; University of Pennsylvania

Liliya Gataullina

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Klaus F. Zimmermann

Global Labor Organization (GLO); UNU-MERIT; Maastricht University, Department of Economics; Free University Berlin; University of Bonn; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Journal of Population Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: December 2006

Abstract

The European Union's strategy to raise employment is confronted with very low work participation among many minority ethnic groups, in particular among immigrants. This study examines the potential of immigrants' identification with the home and host country ethnicity to explain that deficit. It introduces a two-dimensional understanding of ethnic identity, as a combination of commitments to the home and host cultures and societies, and links it to the labour market participation of immigrants. Using unique German survey data, the paper identifies marked gender differences in the effects of ethnic identification on the probability to work controlling for a number of other determinants. While ethnically assimilated immigrant men outperform those who are ethnically separated and marginalized, they are not different from those with openness to both cultures. Assimilated immigrant women do better than those separated and marginalized, but those who develop an attachment to both cultures clearly fare the best.

Keywords: Ethnicity, ethnic identity, acculturation, immigrant assimilation, immigrant integration, gender, work

JEL Classification: F22, J15, J16, Z10

Suggested Citation

Constant, Amelie F. and Gataullina, Liliya and Zimmermann, Klaus F., Gender, Ethnic Identity and Work (December 2006). CEPR Discussion Paper No. 5983, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=955344

Amelie F. Constant

Princeton University ( email )

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Princeton, NJ 08544
United States

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UNU-MERIT ( email )

Keizer Karelplein 19
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CESifo ( email )

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University of Pennsylvania ( email )

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United States

Liliya Gataullina

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Klaus F. Zimmermann (Contact Author)

Global Labor Organization (GLO) ( email )

Bonn
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://glabor.org/

UNU-MERIT ( email )

Keizer Karelplein 19
Maastricht, 6211TC
Netherlands

Maastricht University, Department of Economics ( email )

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Maastricht, Limburg 6200MD
Netherlands

University of Bonn

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Bonn, D-53012
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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United Kingdom

Journal of Population Economics

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