Labor Market Integration of First and Second Generation Black - PDF document

Labor Market Integration of First and Second Generation Black Immigrants in Israel and the United States Extended Abstract – Work in Progress Ameed Saabneh, University of Haifa Rebbeca Tesfai, Temple University Introduction The question of immigrant assimilation – whether immigrants acclimate to the new country and attain socioeconomic characteristics similar to the native-born – has long been a subject of interest to social science researchers. Research focusing on the labor market incorporation of immigrants finds that controlling for nativity characteristics – such as time in the host country and knowledge of the local labor market – and human capital characteristics (e.g. educational attainment and work experience) do not fully explain nativity gaps in labor market outcomes (Beckhusen et al. 2013, Bender and Roche 2013, Chiswick and Miller 2009, Matoo, Neagu and Özden 2008). The remaining gap is consistent with racial (Daneshvary and Schwer 1994, Frank, Akresh and Lu 2010, Tesfai 2017) and nativity discrimination (Corra and Borch 2014, Grant and Nadin 2007). However, researchers also hypothesize that some immigrants have difficulty assimilating to the labor market because they were not selected based on skills applicable to the host-country labor market (Cobb-Clark 2003, Constant and Zimmerman 2005). Without this selection, minority immigrants may be unable to navigate the host country’s racial hierarchy to achieve labor market success. Despite evidence that institutional structures impact immigrants’ labor market assimilation – few studies examine the impact of selection by comparing labor 1

market outcomes of immigrants from a single origin in multiple destinations (Lewin-Epstein et al. 2003). To learn how integration is impacted by nativity characteristics, race, and the interaction between the two, we The Israeli labor market has been organized according to ethnic-national lines since the state was established in 1948. The primary divide is between Palestinians and Jews, with Palestinians occupying a subordinate position relative to Jews (Lewin-Epstein and Semyonov 1992, Sa'di 1995), however ethnic stratification also prevails within the Jewish population. Jews of Middle Eastern or North African origin (Mizrahi Jews) have a lower position in the labor market – e.g. have lower occupational status and earn lower wages – than the dominant group, Jews of European descent (Ashkenazi Jews) (Cohen and Haberfeld 1998, Haberfeld and Cohen 2007). These ethnic disparities emerged in the first decade of Israel’s statehood and reproduced themselves over time, occurring among second and third generation immigrants (Bar-Haim and Semyonov 2015). When Ethiopians began emigrating to Israel en masse in the 1980s, they entered a well-established ethnic hierarchy and their socioeconomic characteristics indicate that they now comprise the lowest position. Compared to other Jewish groups, Ethiopians have lower levels of employment and higher level of residential segregation (Offer 2007). These characteristics are partly explained by their low human capital — they were mostly illiterate and lacked relevant skills for the local labor market when entering Israel (Offer 2004). However, Ethiopians’ social and economic positions are also explained by institutional discrimination and everyday racism they experience as a highly visible racial minority within the Jewish majority (Amit 2012, Ben-Eliezer 2004, Offer 2007). For example, as recently as August of 2016 , Israel’s police commissioner suggested that it is natural to suspect Ethiopians of crime, essentially providing approval to racial profiling of Ethiopians in Israel (Beaumont 2016). It is clear that 2

Ethiopians’ experie nce in Israel is unique, so much so that the discourse of race and racial inequalities in Israeli sociological and immigration studies emerged only after the arrival of Ethiopian immigrants, e.g. the black Jews 1 (Elias & Kemp, 2015). In the United States, by contrast, African immigrants do not comprise the totality of the black population. Until recently, African immigrants comprised a small portion of the black population, however their population has approximately doubled every decade between 1970 and 2010 and there are now approximately two million foreign-born Africans in the United States (Gambino, Trevelyan and Fitzwater 2014). Due to their rapid population increase, African immigrants have come to redefine blackness in the United States. However, due to the racial hierarchy in the United States, even if African immigrants’ ethnic differences from U.S. -born blacks distinguish them from the native-born initially, the system imposes a black racial identity (Bashi and McDaniel 1997). Because blacks face racial inequality and discrimination in occupational attainment and wages, their race may function as a barrier to their full assimilation into the dominant culture (Anderson and Massey 2001). Due to the history of anti-black discrimination, employers prefer hiring native and immigrant non-blacks before considering blacks of any nativity (Bell, Marquardt and Berry 2014) and there is evidence that Africans recognize these barriers and work in solidarity with the native-born. Black migrants feel racial group attachment with native-born blacks due to shared experiences with racial discrimination (Benson 2006); African organizers hav e stated that Africans are “not a separate entity. [They] are black. [Their] kids are black. And this is [also their] struggle” (Sawyer 2015). Indeed, 1 Differences between Palestinian and Jews of all origins are usually discussed in terms of nationality, in which the differences in political status are mostly emphasized. Race was not discussed until Ethiopians moved to Israel en masse. 3

researchers have found evidence that African immigrants are more likely to assimilate towards their native-born counterparts (Lee and Bean 2007). No research has yet compared the labor market assimilation patterns of African immigrants in contexts with and without a native-born black population. Consequently, it is unclear whether the existence of a native-born same race population determines whether African immigrants join an existing stratification system or if their arrival leads to the emergence of a new system entirely. There is evidence of a racially/ethnically stratified labor market in both Israel and the U.S. (Kposowa 2002, Kraus and Yonay 2000) , which can impede minority immigrants’ labor market assimilation (Semyonov, Raijman and Maskileyson 2016). However, while African immigrants in Israel occupy a relatively lower position in the labor market (Semyonov, Raijman and Maskileyson 2015), they did not face assimilating into a native-born black community. Instead, they were the ones who first formed the black community of Israel. Due to the importance of racial stratification systems in determining immigrant assimilation, we aim to explain persistent race/nativity disparities in employment using the frameworks of segmented assimilation theory and racial stratification. Specifically, we use the pooled 2012-2016 U.S. Current Population Survey and the 2012-1015 Israeli labor force survey to conduct cross-national comparative analyses of African immigrant employment in two contexts. Background Segmented Assimilation Two theories of assimilation – based on the United States context – are consistently discussed in the literature examining nativity based labor market disparities: classic and segmented assimilation theory. Classic assimilation theory predicts that with time in the host country, ethnic 4

differences between the native and foreign-born decline and immigrants experience socioeconomic advancement (Anderson and Massey 2001). This theory is consistent with human capital theory (a theory largely discussed in the economics literature), which suggests that race/nativity differences in labor market outcomes are due to group differences in socioeconomic characteristics. Both human capital theory and classic assimilation theory envision that each new generation represents, on average, a new stage of incorporation to the host country (Alba and Nee 1997), e.g. a step towards labor market parity with the dominant group. Classic assimilation theory was developed when most immigrants to the United States were European. Due to their shared racial characteristics with the U.S. majority, European immigrants, regardless of ethnicity, were able to assimilate into the larger white population within a few generations. However, with changes in the racial composition of immigrants (i.e. the increase in Hispanic and Asian immigrants since the passage of the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 and the increase in black immigrants beginning in the 1980s) classic assimilation theory no longer accurately describes assimilation patterns for three reasons. First, this conception of assimilation assumes that there is only one pattern of immigrant incorporation (Alba 2003b). In addition, it leaves no room for a positive role for race or ethnicity (Alba 2003b). Finally, it does not address institutional barriers to immigrant incorporation (Alba 2003a). Due to classic assimilation theory’s inability to predict today’s immigrant incorporation patterns, Portes and Zhou (1993) conceptualized segmented assimilation theory. Segmented assimilation theory suggests that there are institutionalized barriers to immigrant mobility, which are, in effect, impermeable for minority groups (Kasinitz et al. 2008) . Consequently, immigrants’ incorporation into the host society may be a response to social and economic conditions (Foner 1997). Instead of the relatively uniform pattern predicted by earlier assimilation theories, 5