Abstract
The socio-economic integration of members of ethnic minority origins, the second-generation in particular, is of fundamental importance to the social stability and economic prosperity of the destination society. This paper examines the educational and occupational attainment of the second-generation ethnic minority groups in the UK. Using the UK Longitudinal Household Study (UKLHS), we find that the second generation from all major groups outperformed whites in educational attainment in spite of parental socio-economic disadvantages. Yet we also find that the returns to education are much lower for the second generation, which is as true of all second-generation members as of the degree-holders amongst them. The lower returns are shown in higher risks of unemployment, lower access to the salariat, and lower incomes and earnings. The second generation are also more likely than the whites to face discrimination of one kind or another, such as in getting an interview, being offered a job, receiving training opportunities or gaining promotions. The mismatch between the educational success and the labour market disadvantage of the second generation is not fully explicable by theories of class-lined social reproduction or relative risk aversion but needs to take into account expected or perceived ethnic penalty. We suggest a new thesis of ‘heightened risk aversion’ to account for the mismatch, namely, that in anticipation of disadvantages they are likely to face in recruitment and career advancement, the second generation wished to provide stronger signals to potential employers about their employability by having higher levels of educational qualifications to pre-empt and offset the likely discounting of such signals in the screening process in the recruitment processes. In addition, the omnipresent setbacks and frustrations, particularly those associated with hyper-cyclical unemployment rooted in ethnic penalty, as faced by parents, relatives, and co- and pan- ethnic friends and acquaintances, also reinforced the second generation’s determination to aim higher in education to avoid falling much lower in the labour market.
Presented by:
Yaojun Li, University of Manchester Yaojun.Li@manchester.ac.uk
Date & time:
October 17, 2016 3:00 pm - October 17, 2016 5:00 pm
Venue:
Large Seminar Room, 2N2.4.16
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