The intergenerational transmission of disadvantage: Education and labor market gaps between children of natives and children of immigrants

Abstract

We analyze whether gaps in educational attainment and labor market outcomes between children of immigrants and children of native Swedes are dependent on a relative lack of resources within the family and/or in the broader social environment, particularly in neighborhoods. In our empirical analyses, we follow all individuals who completed compulsory school during the 1990s over time and analyze their educational and labor market careers. We conclude that the gaps between children of immigrants and children of native Swedes are mainly generated by differences in various forms of resources in the family of origin. The role of neighborhood segregation is also substantial. Moreover, our results indicate that the gaps in employment are larger than the corresponding gaps in educational attainment. When gainfully employed, children of immigrants follow roughly the same income path as children from native families. The gendered patterns found in the analyses indicate that female children of immigrants face lower barriers and have greater opportunities (as compared to children of native Swedish parents) than their male counterparts.