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The Transition from School to Work for Children of Immigrants with Lower-Level Educational Credentials in the United States and France

Comparative Migration Studies volume 2, pages 227–254 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

This paper compares the transition from school to work among Mexican-origin youth in the United States and North African-origin youth in France relative to the native-majority youth with similar low-level credentials. The goal is to understand the extent to which these groups experience ethnic penalties in the labor market not explained by social class, low-level credentials, or other characteristics. The patterns of employment for second-generation minorities play out differently in the two contexts. In France, lack of access to jobs is a source of disadvantage for North African children of immigrants, while in the united States, second-generation Mexicans do not suffer from a lack of employment. Indeed, the Mexican second-generation shows a uniquely high level of employment. We argue that high levels of youth unemployment in the society, as is the case in France, means greater ethnic penalties for second-generation minorities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Syracuse University, New York, USA

    Amy Lutz (Associate Professor of Sociology)

  2. Centre d’études de l’emploi (CEE), INED and IREDU, Paris, France

    Yaël Brinbaum (Associate Professor, Research Fellow)

  3. Centre for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Dalia Abdelhady (University Lecturer)

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  1. Amy Lutz
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  2. Yaël Brinbaum
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  3. Dalia Abdelhady
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Correspondence to Amy Lutz.

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Lutz, A., Brinbaum, Y. & Abdelhady, D. The Transition from School to Work for Children of Immigrants with Lower-Level Educational Credentials in the United States and France. CMS 2, 227–254 (2014). https://doi.org/10.5117/CMS2014.2.LUTZ

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