Economic Assimilation of the “Third Generation”: An Intergenerational Mobility Perspective

Abstract

Grandchildren of post-World War II immigrants have started entering the labor market in Western Europe. Are they on a multigenerational path toward full economic assimilation, much like the European migrant groups in US classical assimilation theory? This paper assesses the degree of economic assimilation of third-generation descendants of immigrants with divergent initial socioeconomic positions in the Netherlands. Given the diversity in starting positions of various migrant groups, we fully account for parental (economic) disadvantages from an intergenerational mobility perspective by making use of rich register data. Looking at adult children aged 20–30 and their (grand)parents, we quantify the Dutch-third-generation gap in incomes and wealth by employing a rank–rank analysis to identify ethnic disparities in absolute and relative intergenerational income mobility. Our analysis reveals that third-generation descendants of immigrants generally reach parity with their native-Dutch counterparts, regardless of their initial position when we control for socioeconomic conditions. The results signify a diminishing role of group-specific barriers across generations for all groups. As such, the third-generation descendants of disadvantaged migrants appear to be on a track toward economic assimilation, regardless of their ethno-national origin. Our conclusion highlights implications for policy and public debates on ethnic disparities.