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The economic integration of ethnic minorities in Britain

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The economic integration of ethnic minorities in Britain Anthony Heath (Oxford University) Sin Yi Cheung (Birmingham University) Yaojun Li (Manchester University) – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The economic integration of ethnic minorities in Britain


1
The economic integration of ethnic minorities in
Britain
  • Anthony Heath (Oxford University)
  • Sin Yi Cheung (Birmingham University)
  • Yaojun Li (Manchester University)

2
Ethnic disadvantage in the labour market
  • Government statistics continue to show that
    ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in the labour
    market, experiencing higher unemployment rates
    than the white British in some cases two or
    three times as high (GHS, LFS, SARS)
  • The situation has not improved over time.
  • Nor has it improved across generations the
    second generation are as disadvantaged as the
    first, migrant generation.

3
Between-group variation
  • There are some major differences between ethnic
    groups, with men and women of Pakistani or
    Bangladeshi, African and Caribbean heritage
    being the most disadvantaged.
  • People of Indian heritage experience some
    disadvantage, while those of Irish or European
    heritage experience very little.

4
Unemployment rates
  • Men Women
  • Black Caribbean 11.0 6.3
  • Black African 10.0 7.4
  • Pakistani/Bangladeshi 9.8 4.8
  • Indian 4.9 5.1
  • Chinese 2.9 3.9
  • Other white 3.9 3.4
  • British white 3.5 2.5

5
Occupational attainment
  • There has however been some intergenerational
    progress in occupational attainment.
  • Among those fortunate enough to be in employment,
    the second generation are much more likely than
    the first generation to obtain professional and
    managerial posts.
  • The key problem therefore is in gaining access to
    employment.

6
Possible drivers of ethnic disadvantage
  • Differences in aspirations and expectations
  • Human capital (education, skills and training)
  • Social capital (social connections and networks)
  • Cultural preferences
  • Structural features of the labour market (eg
    local unemployment)
  • Direct discrimination (by employers or
    co-workers)
  • Indirect discrimination

7
Aspirations
  • Little evidence on this but
  • First generation may have lower expectations (ie
    be more willing to take low paid work in order to
    send remittances home)
  • Second generation seem to have very similar
    aspirations to their white British peers (BCS,
    YCS, LSYPE)

8
Human capital
  • The first generation, educated abroad, often had
    quite low levels of qualification and fluency in
    English
  • The second generation have in many groups
    overtaken the white British in their educational
    levels and are fluent in English
  • Only Black Caribbeans have lower school
    attainment than do whites from similar social
    class backgrounds (YCS)
  • Human capital explains no more than a quarter of
    the employment gap

9
Social capital
  • Ethnic groups vary in their extent of bridging
    social capital
  • Chinese have the highest and Pakistanis and
    Bangladeshis the least (HOCS)
  • Differences in bridging social capital might
    explain another 10 of the gap
  • But bonding social capital can also provide
    advantages within the ethnic enclave economy

10
Cultural preferences
  • Cultural preferences (eg preference for
    traditional gender roles) probably explain
    differences in economic activity
  • Less clear why they should explain differences in
    unemployment
  • But there is emerging evidence of Muslim
    disadvantage compared with equally qualified
    Indian, African or white co-ethnics (APS)
  • The mechanisms involved are completely unclear at
    present, but one possibility is the chill factor

11
Structural aspects of the labour market
  • Unemployment rates tend to be higher in
    disadvantaged neighbourhoods
  • Some minorities (eg Pakistani and Bangladeshi,
    African and Caribbean) are particularly likely to
    live in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
  • But recent research for DWP suggests that this
    explains only a modest part of the gap
    minorities have higher unemployment rates than
    white British living in the same neighbourhoods

12
Direct discrimination
  • Best evidence comes from field experiments, which
    almost invariably demonstrate discrimination
  • Also evidence on rates of job refusal
  • It is likely that discrimination (measured by job
    refusals) explain up to 25 of the gap

13
Reported job refusals - men
14
Indirect discrimination
  • Little systematic research on this
  • But employers may for example prefer candidates
    from elite universities national universities
    whereas some minorities may attend less
    prestigious local universities
  • Suggestive evidence that ethnic disadvantage is
    greater in the private sector than in the public
    sector (DWP report)

15
Overview
  • Our best efforts have so far failed to explain
    wholly the employment gap
  • Different explanations apply to the first and
    second generation, and to different minorities.
  • Lack of human capital is a major factor in the
    first generation
  • Discrimination is a major factor in the second
    generation

16
Policy implications
  • The problem shows no sign of resolution of its
    own accord
  • Government action is needed
  • Recommendations of the Business Commission on
    Race Equality in the Workplace provide an
    excellent basis for action

17
Business Commission Recommendations
  • Discrimination testing and measurement of
    progress towards reducing the employment gap
  • Use procurement as a lever
  • Establish agreed action plans (cf successful
    voluntary agreements in Northern Ireland)
  • Introduce new legislation in 2015 if inadequate
    progress has been made by then
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