Ethnic Gap Research Articles

Towards policies to eradicate ethnic discrimination in amateur sports

Field experiments in the last decade documented discrimination in several social domains: labour, housing, education, transportation, and sports. Previous research shows that when asking to join a training with an amateur soccer club, people with foreign-sounding names are significantly less likely to receive a positive response than those with native-sounding names. This result differs in magnitude but is traceable across 23 European countries, including Switzerland (Gomez-Gonzalez et al., 2021; Nesseler et al., 2019). The findings redirect attention from self-segregation to collective exclusion mechanisms when analyzing the ethnic participation gap in amateur sports. The negative implications are magnified as research identifies sport participation as key in promoting social integration among minority group members.
 Experimental economics also show that field experiments can play a crucial role in developing effective policies to combat discrimination in the future decade. Previous research demonstrates the importance of intervention studies to test the effectiveness of the policies, as not all have the intended results. Dur et al. (2022) analyze the effectiveness of a low-cost intervention to reduce discrimination among amateur soccer clubs in Norway. A correspondence test is preceded by an anti-discrimination intervention in collaboration with the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF). The intervention is based on an information campaign sent via email to a random selection of amateur soccer clubs, which do not modify their behavior as expected.
 The experimental design of an intervention makes it possible to estimate the causal effect of a low-cost policy against discrimination in the field. In this research, I design an intervention to reduce the ethnic response gap among amateur soccer clubs in Switzerland, where more than 1,000 amateur clubs would be subject to an intervention. I explore the features of the information campaign: message, sender, and channel, and potential collaborations with sports governing bodies to increase the impact of such policy.
 References
 Dur, R., Gomez-Gonzalez, C., & Nesseler, C. (2022). How to reduce discrimination? Evidence from a field experiment in amateur soccer. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 49(1), 175-191. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2022.2071688
 Gomez-Gonzalez, C., Nesseler, C., & Dietl, H. M. (2021). Mapping discrimination in Europe through a field experiment in amateur sport. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8, Article 95. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00773-2
 Nesseler, C., Gomez-Gonzalez, C., & Dietl, H. (2019). What’s in a name? Measuring access to social activities with a field experiment. Palgrave Communications, 5, Article 160. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0372-0

Ethnic differences in smoking behaviour: The situation of Roma in Eastern Europe

Aim: To investigate ethnic differences in smoking between Roma and non-Roma and their determinants, including how discrimination faced by Roma may influence smoking decisions. Methods: We analysed data from the Roma Regional Survey 2011 implemented in twelve countries of Central and South-East Europe with random samples of approximately 750 households in Roma settlements and 350 households in nearby non-Roma communities in each country. The overall sample comprises 11,373 individuals (8,234 Roma) with a proportion of women of 57% and an average age of 36 years. Statistical methods include marginal effects from Probit and zero-truncated negative binomial estimates to explain cigarette consumption. Results: We found that Roma have a higher probability of smoking and are heavier smokers compared to otherwise comparable non-Roma. These differences in smoking behaviour cannot purely be explained by the lower socio-economic situation of Roma since the ethnic gap remains substantial once individual characteristics are controlled for. The probability of smoking is positively correlated with the degree of ethnic discrimination experienced by Roma, especially when it is related to private or public health services. Conclusions: By providing evidence on smoking behaviour between Roma and non-Roma in a large number of countries, our findings support the need to understand smoking behaviour of Roma from a comparative perspective, and may ultimately contribute to more effective anti-smoking messages for Roma. However, if the health disadvantage faced by Roma is to be addressed adequately, this group must be involved more effectively in the policy and public health process.

Determinants of ethnic differences in the uptake of child healthcare services in New Zealand: a decomposition analysis

BackgroundThere are persistent ethnic gaps in uptake of child healthcare services in New Zealand (NZ), despite increasing policy to promote equitable access. We examined ethnic differences in the uptake of immunisation and primary healthcare services at different ages and quantified the contribution of relevant explanatory factors, in order to identify potential points of intervention.MethodsWe used data from the Growing Up in New Zealand birth cohort study, including children born between 2009 and 2010. Econometric approaches were used to explore underlying mechanisms behind ethnic differences in service uptake. Multivariable regression was used to adjust for mother, child, household, socioeconomic, mobility, and social factors. Decomposition analysis was used to assess the proportion of each ethnic gap that could be explained, as well as the main drivers behind the explained component. These analyses were repeated for four data time-points.ResultsSix thousand eight hundred twenty-two mothers were enrolled during the antenatal survey, and children were followed up at 9-months, 2-years and 4-years. In univariable models, there were ethnic gaps in uptake of immunisation and primary care services. After adjusting for covariates in multivariable models, compared to NZ Europeans, Asian and Pacific children had higher timeliness and completeness of immunisation at all time-points, while indigenous Māori had lower timeliness of first-year vaccines despite high intentions to immunise. Asian and Pacific mothers were less likely to have their first-choice lead maternity caregiver (LMC) than NZ Europeans mothers, and Māori and Asian mothers were less likely to be satisfied with their general practitioner (GP) at 2-years. Healthcare utilisation was strongly influenced by socio-economic, mobility and social factors including ethnic discrimination. In decomposition models comparing Māori to NZ Europeans, the strongest drivers for timely first-year immunisations and GP satisfaction (2-years) were household composition and household income. Gaps between Pacific and NZ Europeans in timely first-year immunisations and choice of maternity carer were largely unexplained by factors included in the models.ConclusionsEthnic gaps in uptake of child healthcare services vary by ethnicity, service, and time-point, and are driven by different factors. Addressing healthcare disparities will require interventions tailored to specific ethnic groups, as well as addressing underlying social determinants and structural racism. Gaps that remain unexplained by our models require further investigation.

Mortality Differentials, the Racial and Ethnic Retirement Wealth Gap, and the Great Pandemic

Mortality Differentials, the Racial and Ethnic Retirement Wealth Gap, and the Great Pandemic

The Influence of Ethnic Identity on the Academic Performance of Chinese College Students: An Empirical Study Based on the Administrative Data of a University

The policy of ethnic equality and solidarity aims to narrow the ethnic gap and develop harmoniously. At the level of higher education, it should promote the equity of ethnic education. This paper uses the administrative data of undergraduate students from 2008 to 2015 in a liberal arts university in southwest China to study the differences, causes and dynamic trends in the scores of college students from different nationalities. The results show that compared with Han students, the average GPA of ethnic minority students is 0.13 points lower (equivalent to 0.23 and 0.3 standard deviations of the scores of ethnic minority and Han students), the fourth grade scores are 0.28 standard deviations lower, and 7.3% lower. This difference is more significant in the western region, especially in Xinjiang, Yunnan, Hubei and other provinces inhabited by ethnic minorities; Kazak and uygur are the nationalities with the biggest gap with han students; The difference between girls is more significant than that between boys. The "peer effect" and cultural distance between roommates are important reasons for this difference. Further analysis shows that although the ethnic differences in academic performance are gradually expanding, the growth rate tends to converge. The above conclusions are helpful to clarify the object and time of making national higher education policy, and also have important reference significance for primary and secondary education.

Changing trends in ethnicity and academic performance: observational cohort data from a UK medical school

ObjectiveQuantify differential attainment by ethnicity in undergraduate medical assessments and evaluate whether institutional efforts to reduce the attainment gap have had impact.DesignObservational cohort study.SettingA single UK MBBS medical programme.ParticipantsPseudonymised data...

Flexible labour market and trade unions: Surprising career paths of Dutch sub‐Saharan Africans

AbstractStarting from the empirical evidence that minorities are more likely to work on flexible contracts, we investigated the existence of an ethnic gap in flexible contracts between the native Dutch population and sub‐Saharan African immigrants between 2006 and 2012. The migrant group is taken as a test case of ‘outsiders’. This study found, quite surprisingly and contrary to what several theories predict, that the expected ethnic gap in job status between the two groups disappeared in the 6 years between 2006 and 2012. Many sub‐Saharan Africans successfully transformed their flexible contracts into permanent ones, catching up with the native Dutch by 2012. The analysis of the statutory provisions showed that the workforce numerical composition in the cleaning industry was important for the inclusiveness of sub‐Saharan immigrants. This numerical compositional effect was facilitated by the collective agreements negotiated by trade unions, agreements that were extended to temp workers. Sub‐Saharan Africans, overrepresented in the cleaning industry, have benefited disproportionally from the settled agreements. We thus conclude that trade unions can improve the inclusion of migrants not only by explicitly focusing on migrant representation but also by targeting sectors with an overrepresentation of migrants.

Exploring positive experiences of engagement amongst Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) university students: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

The Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) university student attainment gap shows little sign of improving in the official statistics. The research into engagement has been primarily quantitative, showing that attainment is strongly linked to engagement. However, there is relatively little qualitative research on how students experience engagement. This study therefore takes a qualitative approach, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to bring to life and make sense of the multi-faceted “lived experiences” of positive engagement of six BAME students at a Business School in London. IPA analysis is based on the double hermeneutic, or meaning-making, of both the participant and the researcher and is built rigorously from the bottom up, focusing idiographically on each participant in turn. This includes a detailed examination of the use of language, before moving onto the development of whole-sample, super-ordinate themes. Six super-ordinate themes were identified in this study: “Thriving with the support of positive relationships”, “On a journey of personal growth”, “Feeling at ease in the environment”, “Investing in the university experience to get the most out of it”, “Enjoying the experience of intellectual stimulation and success” and “Driven by ambition and passion”. The study supports key dimensions in the literature around belonging, connectedness and positive affirmation, whilst making contributions to the literature regarding the importance of meaning, growth mindset and self-actualisation. By depicting and interpreting their “lived experiences”, this study helps us gain a better understanding of what engagement can look like for BAME university students and the factors that can help drive it.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic Unmasked the Challenges Faced by Early-Stage Faculty in Infectious Diseases: A Call to Action.

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated increase in family care responsibilities resulted in unsustainable personal and professional workloads for Infectious Diseases (ID) faculty on the front lines. This was especially true for early-stage faculty (ESF), many of whom had caregiving responsibilities. In addition, women faculty, underrepresented in medicine and science faculty, and particularly ESF experienced marked declines in research productivity, which significantly impacts career trajectories. When combined with staffing shortages due to an aging workforce and suboptimal recruitment and retention in ID, these work-life imbalances have brought the field to an inflection point. We propose actionable recommendations and call on ID leaders to act to close the gender, racial, and ethnic gaps to improve the recruitment, retention, and advancement of ESF in ID. By investing in systemic change to make the ID workforce more equitable, we can embody the shared ideals of diversity and inclusion and prepare for the next pandemic.

Bridging the Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Gap in Gastroenterology

Bridging the Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Gap in Gastroenterology

The child education and health ethnic inequality consequences of climate shocks in Vietnam

This paper provides a new explanation for ethnic disparities in education and health in Vietnam by studying the relationship between frequent, small-scale adverse rainfall shocks and child human capital. Exploiting plausibly random year-to-year variation in weather data that are linked to a longitudinal household- and individual-level dataset over the period 2008–2017, I find that excess rainfall during the annual typhoon season results in lower child subjective health status and school enrollment, with disproportionate effects on children of ethnic minorities. The negative lagged effects on education are concentrated in children at primary school start age, suggesting delaying children’s school entry is a shock–coping strategy for poor ethnic minority households, albeit with potentially big negative long-run effect on their child lifetime earnings. Estimates suggest that rainfall shocks can explain approximately 28% of the observed ethnic gap in enrollment rates of children age 16–18 in the sample during the study period, and most is due to heterogeneous effects of rainfall shocks among ethnic groups, not differences in exposure to rainfall shocks.

Closing Peru's Ethnic Gaps Amidst Sustained Economic Growth

Closing Peru's Ethnic Gaps Amidst Sustained Economic Growth

Language or ideology? Studying the sources of the ethnic gap in geopolitical preferences in the Association Agreement countries. Evidence from Georgia (2015-2021)

ABSTRACT The existence of differences in geopolitical preferences between the titular nationalities and ethnic minorities has been thoroughly documented for the Association Agreement countries and other post-Soviet states. This paper goes beyond simply identifying the existence of this “ethnic gap” in geopolitical preferences, by also testing some of the common theories that try to explain it. To do so, I use different regression analyses based on survey data from Georgia (2015–2021). The results of a first multivariate analysis that aims to explain the ethnic gap show that the linguistic differences between the titular nationalities and the ethnic groups explain a higher percentage of the gap in support for the EU than differences related to ideology, values, and information. Furthermore, a second analysis that divides the sample into different ethnic groups reveals that certain variables influence the geopolitical preferences of members of the titular nationalities and members of each of the studied ethnic minorities in different ways.

The Impact of Social Media on Social Cohesion in South Africa

Social cohesion is an important policy issue with social, political and economic consequences in South Africa. Given the country’s diverse population comprised of different races, ethnicities and migrants from around the world, its history of violence and the persistent incidences of xenophobia, social cohesion has become a prominent issue. The study foregoes discussing the challenges of achieving social cohesion to examine the nexus between social media and social cohesion promotion. Since lockdown was introduced in March 2020, social media has become a means for daily communication, bridging racial, ethnic, class and geographical boundaries. Against this background, this study explored the impact of social media on social cohesion in South Africa? The main objective was to examine the role played by social media in fostering social cohesion. A systematic review of relevant academic literature and research reports on social media and social cohesion was adopted in gathering data. By examining the social media social cohesion nexus, an illustration of social media as an essential determinant of social cohesion can be delineated. Teasing out these aspects is vital in enriching the current literature on understanding social cohesion. The study found that social media has become an essential platform for nation-building, potentially bridging racial, ethnic, cultural, and geographical gaps in South African society. However, due to the threats of misinformation and insensitive use, social media can hamstring social cohesion and cause instability. The study recommends that social media be used appropriately and sensitively in strengthening interpersonal relationships that transcend race, culture, ethnicity, nationality, and religion.

The role of the workplace in ethnic wage differentials

AbstractUsing linked employer–employee data for Britain, we examine ethnic wage differentials among full‐time employees. We find substantial ethnic segregation across workplaces. However, this inter‐workplace segregation does not contribute to the aggregate wage penalty in Britain. Instead, most of the ethnic wage gap exists within the workplace, between observationally‐equivalent co‐workers. Lower pay satisfaction and higher levels of skill mismatch among ethnic minority workers are consistent with discrimination in wage‐setting on the part of employers. The presence of recognized trade unions and the use of job evaluation schemes within the workplace are associated with a smaller ethnic wage gap. These findings indicate that more attention should be placed on ensuring fairness in wage determination.

Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Paid Family and Medical Leave: United States, 2011 and 2017-2018.

Objectives. To examine racial and ethnic inequities in paid family and medical leave (PFML) access and the extent to which these inequities are mediated by employment characteristics. Methods. We used data from the 2011 and 2017-2018 American Time Use Survey in the United States to describe paid leave access by race/ethnicity. We present unadjusted models, models stratified by policy-targetable employment characteristics, and adjusted regression models. Results. We found that 54.4% of non-Hispanic White workers reported access to PFML in 2017-2018 but that access was significantly lower among Asian, Black, and Hispanic workers. Inequities were strongest among private-sector and nonunionized workers. Leave access improved slightly between 2011 and 2017-2018, but the inequity patterns were unchanged. Conclusions. We observed large and significant racial and ethnic inequities in access to PFML that were only weakly mediated by job characteristics. PFML has a range of health benefits for workers and their families, but access remains limited and inequitable. Public Health Implications. Our findings suggest that broad PFML mandates (such as those in other high-income countries) may be needed to substantially narrow racial and ethnic gaps in paid leave access. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(7):1050-1058. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306825).

Resisting gentrification, reclaiming urban spaces: Latin urbanisms in London

ABSTRACT Developer-led gentrification, assisted by local governments, is the antithesis of spatial justice. This is particularly true in London where land values are at a premium and both programmes and policies aimed at mitigating the negative impact are superficial and non-effective. In this context, I argue that asserting a form of Latin urbanism in struggles over place becomes a strategic tool for reshaping, claiming, and resisting gentrification in inner city neighbourhoods of London. The paper draws on the conceptual underpinnings of Latino urbanism within the global north to argue that building networks of solidarity and collaboration amongst like-minded groups is crucial to resist gentrification and advocate for spatial justice and inclusive urban policies. By focusing on Latin urbanisms, this paper contributes to our understanding of unequal forms of urbanisms in London, particularly as it is framed around race and ethnicity, and thus addresses the ethnic gap in urban planning policy and development in the UK. The paper provides insightful material from long-term ethnographic research in two of London’s largest Latin American business clusters at Elephant and Castle in the borough of Southwark and Seven Sisters in the borough of Haringey.

Inclusive and active pedagogies reduce academic outcome gaps and improve long-term performance.

We assessed the impacts of the implementation of inclusive and active pedagogical approaches in an introductory biology sequence at a large, public research university in the northeast United States. We compared academic performance between these sections with other sections of the same course where didactic approaches were used over a five-year period. We also compared this five-year period (2014–2018) with the previous five years of the same courses. Additionally, we also tracked the academic performance of the students from the sections where active learning and inclusive teaching were used, as well as the more conventionally taught (lecture-based) sections in future, mandatory biology courses. We found that the inclusively taught section of the first semester of introductory biology increased the odds of students earning higher grades in that particular section. The active learning section in the second semester narrowed the ethnic performance gap when compared to similar sections, both historically and those run concurrently. Finally, students who matriculated into the inclusively taught section of biology in the first semester followed by the active learning section in the second semester of introductory biology performed better in 200-level biology courses than students who had zero semesters of either active or inclusive pedagogy in their introductory year. Our results suggest that active and inclusive pedagogies hold great promise for improving academic performance when compared to didactic approaches, however, questions remain on the most appropriate ways for capturing the impact of inclusive approaches. Implications for institutional approaches and policy are also discussed.

Decomposing Ethnic Achievement Gaps across Multiple Levels of Analysis and for Multiple Ethnic Groups

Ethnic achievement gaps are often explained in terms of student and school factors. The decomposition of these gaps into their within- and between-school components has therefore been applied as a strategy to quantify the overall influence of each set of factors. Three competing approaches have previously been proposed, but each is limited to the study of student-school decompositions of the gap between two ethnic groups (e.g., White and Black). The authors show that these approaches can be reformulated as mediation models facilitating new extensions to allow additional levels in the school system (e.g., classrooms, school districts, geographic areas) and multiple ethnic groups (e.g., White, Black, Hispanic, Asian). The authors illustrate these extensions using administrative data for high school students in Colombia and highlight the increased substantive insights and nuanced policy implications they afford.

‘We are inferior, we have no rights’: Statelessness and mental health among ethnic minorities in Northern Thailand

Research has shown that asylum seekers, refugees, and internally displaced persons, including stateless persons, are at increased risk of poor mental health. Yet, only a few studies explicitly focus on stateless persons. This article examines the association between legal status and mental health among Akha, Lahu and Tai-Yai people in Northern Thailand. A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was adopted and primary data were collected in June 2020 by face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with persons who do not hold a nationality (n = 108). A distinction was made between registered (nationalityless) and unregistered (stateless) persons since only the former have a legal status in Thailand. The correlates of mental health were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Qualitative thematic analysis was employed to gain deeper insights into the relationship between legal status, ethnicity and mental health. The quantitative results weakly suggest that stateless persons are more likely to have poorer mental health than nationalityless persons, who are recognized as habitually resident in Thailand and are recorded in the country's civil registry. The qualitative results, however, show that the legal status afforded to nationalityless persons is considered important as it gives rise to hope and increases livelihood opportunities. Yet, respondents also pointed out that it is not comparable to citizenship. The odds of having poorer mental health are significantly higher for Lahu and Tai-Yai respondents. The importance of ethnicity is confirmed by the qualitative results. These further indicate that citizenship problems and ethnicity are deeply interrelated. Stigma, discrimination, and lack of social support are key risk factors identified by respondents. Disaggregating data to better understand the heterogeneity of persons without nationality could play a key role in accelerating efforts to resolve protracted citizenship problems and close ethnic gaps.