The Second Generation in Western Europe: Education, Unemployment, and Occupational Attainment

TLDR

The paper reviews recent research on educational and labor‑market outcomes of second‑generation minorities in ten Western European countries and examines explanations for differences between minorities and countries. The authors conduct a literature review of studies across these countries, synthesizing findings on education, labor‑market entry, and occupational attainment, and exploring explanatory factors. Minorities from less‑developed origins face educational, labor‑market, and occupational disadvantages, with early‑school test‑score gaps, lower labor‑market entry, and mixed occupational outcomes, though some countries show higher continuation rates beyond compulsory schooling.

Abstract

This paper reviews recent research in ten Western European countries on the educational and labor market outcomes of second-generation minorities. Minorities from less-developed origins appear to be particularly disadvantaged in education, access to the labor market, and occupational attainment. Disadvantages are most evident with test scores early in the school career, but in some countries minorities have higher continuation rates beyond the compulsory leaving age than do majority peers with similar test scores. Entry into the labor market is a particular problem for most minorities, with substantial ethnic penalties with respect to employment in all ten countries. There is a more mixed picture for occupational attainment: In some countries, we find cumulative disadvantages, whereas in others the barriers are greatest on entry into the labor market. We review possible explanations for the differences both between minorities and between countries.