Séminaire scientifique de l'OSC 2017-2018

98, rue de l'Université 75007 Paris - salle Annick Percheron

vendredi 6 octobre 2017 de 10h30 à 12h

First and second generation immigrants at the German labor market:
A relational inequality approach

Silvia Melzer, Universität Bielefel, lecturer in Social Structure.

We conceptualize immigrant incorporation as a categorically driven process, contrasting the bright distinctions between first generation immigrants and natives, with more blurry second generation contrasts. Analyzing linked employer-employee data for a large sample of employees in 100 German large organizations, we explore generational, labor market and workplace contexts that expand or mitigate native-immigrant inequalities.

We find a substantial average first generation immigrant-native wage gap, which is not explained by individual human capital differences or most aspects of organizational context. In contrast, there is on average no second generation wage gap, but substantial variation across workplaces. Second generation immigrants do better in workplaces where they have intersectional advantages over natives and in upper-tier jobs. In uncredentialed jobs second generation immigrants look like first generation immigrants, especially when they are employed in high class inequality or low collective bargaining workplaces.

This talk is based on joint work with Donald Tomaskovic-Devey (UMass Amherst), Reinhard Schunck (Gesis) and Peter Jacobebbinghaus (Bielefeld).

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