Native-Immigrant Gaps in Educational and School-to-Work Transitions in the 2nd Generation: The Role of Gender and Ethnicity

Abstract

We study how native-immigrant gaps in educational trajectories and school-to-work transitions vary by gender. Using longitudinal Belgian data and adjusting for family background and educational sorting, we find that second-generation immigrants, especially Turks and Moroccans, lag behind natives. In particular, we observe that immigrant students are less likely to finish secondary education or begin tertiary education on time. They are also less likely to transition into work successfully. These performance gaps are substantially larger for female immigrants. In addition, we study demographic behaviors to test the hypothesis that attributes the gender differences in educational and economic ethnic gaps to cultural differences between immigrants and natives.