Education gap between second-generation migrants and natives and the role of intergenerational transmission of education. The French case

• Pages: 288-317
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-10-2015-0173
• Published date: 02 May 2017
• Date: 02 May 2017
• Author: Nicolas Fleury
• Subject Matter: Economics,Labour economics

Education gap between second-

generation migrants and natives

and the role of intergenerational

transmission of education

The French case

Nicolas Fleury

Centre Etudes and Prospective –Groupe Alpha, Paris, France and

Lille 1 University, Lille, France

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role played by parental education endowments vs

intergenerational transmission of education in education differences between second-generation immigrants

and natives for the French case.

Design/methodology/approach –First, estimates of human capital accumulation functions are performed

by using a representative sample of the French population. Second, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition

technique is implemented to underline the specific roles of differences in parental education endowments and

of differences in intergenerational transmission in education between origins.

Findings –The econometric esti mates of human capital accumulation function parameters underline that

the determinants of edu cation level (and their magnitude), differ su bstantially between n atives and

migrants. They also und erline evidence of heterogeneity in t he intergenerational transmiss ion of education

among the different origins of migrants in France. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition results show that

parental education en dowments account diffe rences for a significan t part of the education gaps a mong

origins. No evidence is found that diffe rences in parental transmissions of educa tion explain these gaps.

Originality/value –The paper focusses on France, a country with a rich history of immigration in the

twentieth century. The econometric analysis is based on a rich source of data for France that allows studying

intergenerational mobility in education and also distinguishing natives from second-generation migrants

based on their geographical origin.

Keywords France, Education, Intergenerational transmission, Second-generation immigrants vs natives

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

This paper investigates, for France, the extent to which the differences in education levels

between second-generation immigrants and natives come from differences in parental

endowments in education or from differences in intergenerational transmissions of human

capital. It shows that only differences in parental education levels are important in

explaining the educational gaps between these origins.

Compared to a country’s native population, those born in the same country to migrant

parents often exhibit different patterns of education and labour market outcomes. In the

case of France, which has a rich history of immigration, the literature shows that second-

generation migrants (SGM) may experience different social outcomes and different

intergenerational mobility depending on their origins and, particularly, in terms of

education (Simon, 2003; Brinbaum and Kieffer, 2009).

Since the seminal work of Chiswick (1988), a large literature on a large number of

countries has been aimed at analysing the impact on education and labour market outcomes

of belonging to an ethnic group or to being second (or later) generation immigrants.

This literature notes levels of achievement in test scores and education attainment of SGM,

which are often equal or superior to what is achieved by natives (Rong and Grant, 1992;

International Journal of Manpower

Vol. 38 No. 2, 2017

pp. 288-317

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0143-7720

DOI 10.1108/IJM-10-2015-0173

Received 16 October 2015

Revised 28 April 2016

15 December 2016

Accepted 16 December 2016

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-7720.htm

288

IJM

38,2

Kao and Tienda, 1995; Chiswick and DebBurman, 2004; Dustman, 2012). The literature also

reveals substantial heterogeneity in labour and education outcomes among “ethnic”groups

(Borjas, 1995; Waters and Eschbach, 1995; Gang and Zimmerman, 2000; Chiswick and

DebBurman, 2004; Bauer and Riphahn, 2007; Kessler and Safi, 2010). Several studies focus

on the French case. Some deal mainly or partly with the education attainment of SGM,

like Domingues Dos Santos and Wolff (2011) or Algan et al. (2010). Although Domingues

Dos Santos and Wolff (2011) highlight the factors explaining education attainment among

SGM in France, they do not compare education achievement differences between SGM and

natives. Algan et al. (2010) present estimates of the education gap (and of other labour

market indicators) between SGM and natives for France, but do not explore the factors

explaining this gap.

It is important to understand the factors that might explain differences in the

accumulation of human capital between natives and SGM. From an academic perspective,

this involves a better understanding of the mechanisms of intergenerational mobility, and

from a policy perspective, it is important for policy makers to have a better understanding of

these mechanisms when formulating public policies.

What are the origins of the education gap between SGM and natives? Theoretically, they

may be due to heterogeneity in the intergenerational transmission of education[1],

i.e. differences in the effective transmission of education from parents to children, depending

on the origin (Bauer and Riphahn, 2007; Niknami, 2010). Also, the presence of “ethnic

capital”as a human capital externality might influence education outcomes (Borjas, 1995)

and explain these features. At the same time, differences in education outcomes might stem

from differences in parental education endowments, i.e. from differences in the education

achieved by first-generation migrants. There may be some selection effects in terms of

migrants’education, which may differ according to their country of origin: the migration

literature suggests that higher bilateral mig ration costs favour positive selection

(i.e. migrants with higher levels of education), while lower bilateral migration costs

favour negative selection (Chiquiar and Hanson, 2005; McKenzie and Rapoport, 2010).

This could explain why (parents) migrants with different origins have different average

levels of education. This feature has already been highlighted for the case of migrants in

France (e.g. Brinbaum et al., 2010). In addition, parents who have migrated to France might

adjust their education decisions related to their children (SGM) to the local labour and

education market conditions. This might explain part of the differences in the patterns of

human capital accumulation for different origins.

Focussing on France, this paper assesses the differences in the determinants and

patterns of the accumulation of human capital for SGM compared to natives, using a

representative sample of the French population. Heterogeneity in intergenerational

transmission of education, and its determinants, is studied for France and for SGM.

In particular, this paper investigates the extent to which the differences in education levels

(the education gaps) between SGM and natives come from differences in parental

endowments in education or from differences in intergenerational transmissions of human

capital. This is a relevant question even if similar levels of education between SGM and

natives are observed: it could result from different human capital accumulation patterns

(including differences in parental transmission). In assessing the gaps in the determinants

and patterns of the accumulation of human capital among SGM compared to natives, for a

representative sample of the French population, we focus on differences between natives

andSGMoriginatingfromNorthernAfrica,Southern Europe, Northern and Western

Europe and Eastern Europe. A representative sample of the French population is used,

based on the Formation et Qual ification Profes sionnelle (FQP) survey (Training and

Occupational Skills Survey administered by the French National Institute of Statistics

and Economic Studies). This unique data source provides informationon both individuals’

289

Education gap

between SGM

and natives