Unequal Opportunities and Ethnic Origin: The Labor Market Outcomes of Second-Generation Immigrants in France

This article makes two contributions to the empirical analysis of the socioeconomic achievement of ethnic minorities. The first contribution is methodological. The author relies on a discussion of the concept of equality of opportunity to analyze how the disadvantage suffered by ethnic minorities should be defined and empirically measured. The second contribution is empirical. The author estimates the disadvantage suffered by second-generation immigrants in the access to education, employment, and earnings in France. Contrary to most papers in this area, the author identifies second-generation immigrants in a consistent way, using information of parental geographic and national origin. He also discusses the extent to which measured earnings differentials reflect ethnic discrimination or ethnic-blind social inequalities.