Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS)
ISSN 1369-183X

Volume 25 Number 3 July 1999

Articles
Research notes
Report
Reviews
Abstracts

Articles

Abstract This article examines patterns of educational achievement among immigrant second-generation youths on the basis of a national sample of the American student population. Three hypotheses are tested in relation to the predicted effects of human capital, social capital, and modes of incorporation of immigrant groups. These effects are examined for the second generation in general and four of its principal national components on the basis of multivariate regressions and hierarchical modelling. The latter method allows an examination of the extent to which school contexts affect second generation academic achievement and explains resilient inter-group differences. Results point to the strong influence of parental socioeconomic status and other human capital factors and to the significant, but much weaker, effects of social capital indicators. Controlling for this array of variables does not eliminate the effect of nationality differences, pointing to the resilient influence of modes of incorporation in the subsequent character of ethnic communities. Interaction effects between these various factors and school characteristics are examined. Implications of results for theory and future immigration policy are discussed.

(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 25 No. 3: 373–396, © 1999 Taylor and Francis Ltd.)

The institutional framework of ethnic employment disadvantage: a comparison of Germany and Canada
Jeffrey G. Reitz, Joachim R. Frick, Tony Calabrese and Gert C. Wagner

Abstract Foreigners in Germany differ from immigrants in Canada in the patterns, more than the overall extent, of employment disadvantage. Conventional earnings decomposition analysis is extended cross-nationally to highlight differences in ethnic disadvantages within labour markets, and also differences in effects of the structure of educational and labour market institutions themselves, using the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) first wave for 1984, and the 1986 Canadian Census. German education and labour market institutions benefit low-skill migrants, but generate less earnings assimilation. Such assimilation in Canada is greater but varies more by ethnic and racial origins. Migrant women in Germany receive a boost from the lower educational levels of mainstream German women, and from greater German labour market equity. These cross-national differences support some of the expectations based on characterisations of ‘immigrant societies’, or differences in national policies of citizenship, equity or culture, but depart from others.

(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 25 No. 3: 397–443, © 1999 Taylor and Francis Ltd.)

The employment integration of immigrants in Sweden
Pieter Bevelander

Abstract. This article investigates the declining employment assimilation of various groups of foreign-born men and women in Sweden during the period 1970 to 1990. It discusses the factors which determine the probability of being employed in Sweden in 1970 and 1990. The analysis reveals that formal human capital characteristics of the foreign-born are important factors for obtaining employment in the Swedish labour market. This does not explain the entire difference in levels in the employment rate between Swedes and the various groups of foreign-born. Traditional discrimination may explain this situation, but an alternative explanation could be structural changes that have occurred in the economy, which increased the demand for specialised knowledge such as culture-specific social competence, and language skills. These developments favoured the native-born in terms of obtaining employment.

(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 25 No. 3: 445–468, © 1999 Taylor and Francis Ltd.)

The societal participation of Vietnamese refugees: case studies in Finland and Canada
Kathleen Valtonen

Abstract This qualitative multiple case study looks at the integration of Vietnamese refugee communities in Finland and Canada, using societal participation as an analytic framework. In both sites, the high priority on economic aspects of participation is indicated by the self-reported resettlement goals variably expressed as 'financial stability', 'a stable livelihood', 'a good job', 'a really good job'. These goals should be seen in the light of the aftermath of widespread disruption of regular economic participation in the home country. Vietnamese refugee resettlement in Finland and Canada displays a watershed between arriving 'in the right place at the right time' i.e., in a strong economy, when newcomers could be accommodated relatively rapidly into the labour market, or at a later time of harsh economic realities, a much less receptive public mood and bleaker employment prospects. In Finland the parity of opportunity to develop language and labour market related skills has had significant gender-based implications, fostering the participation of women of all educational and socioeconomic levels in language and labour market training and later in the labour force. The 'gates' to economic participation in Canada included opportunities in ethnic enterprise, and ethnospecific settlement services, which are not developed in Finland, where alternatively, seasonal participation in the agricultural sector can be seen to represent a form of biological and geographical adaptation.

(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies Vol. 25 No. 3: 469–491, © 1999 Taylor and Francis Ltd.)

Displacement and entrepreneurship: Iranian small businesses in Stockholm
Shahram Khosravi

Abstract Increasing unemployment in Sweden has affected non-Western residents particularly hard. A shrinking public sector, and toughening attitudes toward migrant job-seekers within the private sector, frequently leave self-employment as the only option. The emergence of an ethnic economy is partly due to the opportunity structure in the host society, and partly to available ethnic resources. This article examines Iranian small businesses in Stockholm. The Swedish labour market, and the situation of Iranian migrants within it, are crucial factors in bringing about the Iranian entry into self-employment. Yet, ethnic resources and previous work experiences in Iran also play an important role in shaping economic activities among Iranians in Sweden. This article portrays how Iranians, whose social space has been distorted by displacement, contrive to reconstruct this in the Swedish setting.