National Context and Logic of Social Distancing: Children of Immigrants in France and Germany

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the socio-economic incorporation of immigrants’ descendants in France and Germany, focusing in particular on their outcomes in education and employment. Schooling is a key institution in the life course (Mayer 2005) and different education systems lead to differential outcomes among children of immigrants (Crul and Vermeulen 2003). Cross-national differences in labour market structures can also be expected to translate into different types of labour market participation: a relatively high youth unemployment rate (as exists in France) will probably lead to high competition for jobs among the younger population. A wide array of institutional and structural parameters thus delimits the opportunities and constraints affecting groups and individuals, shaping their life courses. In the case of immigration, traditions of citizenship, philosophies of integration (Favell 2001) and institutional practices relating to the treatment of the ‘other’ play a key role as parameters defining ‘national conceptions of integration’.