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This article examines the ethnic wage penalty among migrants in 11 Western European countries. It aims to extend the literature on the models of migrant occupational inclusion in European labor markets by studying the wage gap and to disentangle whether the gross wage penalty experienced by foreign-born residents can be explained by human capital-related factors and/or by migrants’ occupational segregation. Estimating probit models with sample selection on European Labour Force Survey data (2009–2016), we find that both male and female migrants experienced a larger gross wage penalty in Southern Europe, where they had lower education levels and faced stronger occupational segregation. In the other countries under study, we find a smaller gross wage penalty among foreign-born women. Results show that migrants from Eastern Europe were not systematically less penalized than migrants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, except for men in Italy and Greece. Wage penalties were higher among tertiary-educated migrants, compared to their less-educated counterparts, only in Mediterranean countries, where the former were mainly concentrated at the bottom of the occupational structure. Finally, the acquisition of the highest education after migration reduced migrants’ wage penalty, thanks to a better match between educational credentials and job allocation, especially in Southern Europe. Focusing on the ethnic wage penalty and on both human capital- and occupation-related factors of ethnic penalization highlights cross-country differences not yet explored by existing comparative research, allowing a new and more comprehensive picture of migrants’ penalization in Europe.

The current study examines the quantum of childbearing of migrants from low-fertility contexts (Poland and Romania) at multiple destinations (Italy and the UK), and compares them to stayers at origin and to non-migrants at destination, combining the multi-origin/multi-destination approach with the 'context-of-origin' perspective. Using data from the Labour Force Surveys (2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) and adopting a gender and a couple perspective, we show that Polish and Romanian women have fewer children than non-migrants at destinations. Romanian migrant women and men have a fertility similar to that of stayers at the origin, especially in UK, suggesting a socialization pattern for this group. Our findings also suggest the presence of the disruption mechanism for migrants, mainly in the short term, combined with a 'catch-up' in the long run explained by family reunification, primarily in Italy. However, the 'catch-up' over time of residence is found to be slower compared to previous studies. Finally, we find selection into migration and into different destination play an important role.

BACKGROUNDThe European model of integration of recent immigrants is characterised by a trade-off between employment and job quality, which takes different forms in Southern and Continental Europe. In Mediterranean countries, migrants have similar employment opportunities as natives, but they have high risks of entering the lowest strata of the occupational structure. In Continental Europe the trade-off is reversed: Migrants have lower employment opportunities, but once employed, they face a lower penalisation in terms of job quality than the one faced by immigrants living in Southern Europe. OBJECTIVEThis work focuses on the regional heterogeneity of the model of inclusion of recent immigrants in the European labour markets, analysing how migrant-native gaps in wages and in the probability of (dependent) employment change across areas of the same country. Is the trade-off between employment and job quality confirmed when regional differences are considered? Are there gender differences in the models of inclusion? METHODSWe used European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS, 2009-2016) data and applied probit models with sample selection, estimated separately by region and gender. RESULTSResults show substantial regional heterogeneity in the ethnic penalties in Germany and in Southern Europe, especially in Greece and Italy. Moreover, when regional differences within countries were considered, the trade-off model of inclusion was confirmed only among men, while immigrant women's model of inclusion turned out to be more mixed,

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