Suchergebnisse

Intro -- Contents -- Introduction -- Theory -- Data and Methods -- Employment -- Occupational Status -- Self-Employment -- Language Proficiency -- Religion -- Conclusions -- The International File of Immigration Surveys -- Country and Community File -- References -- Index.

Whereas much research has been done on the benefits of social capital, less is known about the causes of the unequal distribution of social capital in people's networks. This study examines inequalities in access to social capital in terms of the socio-economic resources that are embedded in personal networks. Using data from NELLS, a nationally representative survey of the Dutch population aged 15–45 years, results show that within this age group access to social capital increases with age and educational qualifications, and is lower among women. Residing in a less affluent neighbourhood and scoring lower on a measurement for cognitive abilities are associated with less social capital. Participation in voluntary associations and having an ethnically diverse network are associated with more access to social capital. Surprisingly, when studying differences across national origin groups, we do not find that Turkish immigrants are disadvantaged in access to social capital.

This study examines existing hypotheses on cross-national differences in immigrants' labor market integration. Unlike previous research, which focused on Western countries, we study the occupational status of immigrants in both Western and non-Western countries. We use census data for 45 Western and non-Western destination countries and test hypotheses derived from human capital and discrimination theory applying multilevel modeling. The analysis shows that differences in immigrants' occupational status attainment can partly be explained by pre-migration language exposure, economic advancement of the origin country, geographical distance, group size, and the religious as well as socioeconomic distance of immigrant groups and the majority population. Despite differences in the magnitude of effects, patterns of immigrants' occupational attainment appear comparable between Western and non-Western societies. We do not find compelling evidence that human capital factors are consistently more important in Western societies.

Inspired by the emerging literature on transnationalism in the United States, this paper studies the return visits of adolescent children of immigrants in four European countries. Using data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, cross-classified multilevel analyses indicate that parental economic resources, ethnic motivations, and political suppression are related to adolescent children of immigrants' return visits. Furthermore, return visits are positively related to adolescents' identification with the origin country and negatively to adolescents' identification with the host country.

This article proposes a dynamic perspective on immigrants' language proficiency. Hypotheses are formulated about immigrants' language skills at arrival and about the speed with which immigrants learn the language thereafter. It pools data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 U.S. Censuses, and uses a synthetic cohort design to analyze the language skills of immigrants within the first 20 years after migration. Multilevel models show that higher educated immigrants arrive with better language skills and learn the language quicker. Group size has a double-negative effect: it attracts less skilled immigrants, and it hampers language learning. These and other determinants are discussed in light of current research on immigrants' second-language proficiency.