Does neighbourhood influence ethnic inequalities in economic activity? Findings from the ONS Longitudinal Study

Abstract

This article aims to test whether geographical factors have an important role in explaining ethnic inequalities in transitions between economic activities. It is based on the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, which links together results from successive censuses in England for a random sample of respondents. It allows us to estimate the probability of transition into and out of employment and the labour market. Our analyses reported that ethnic minorities were, more likely than their White peers, to become unemployed and less likely to become employed. Living in a deprived neighbourhood was associated (positively) with transitions to unemployment and (negatively) with transitions to employment, especially among men. Ethnic diversity was negatively associated with job loss among employed women, but also for homemaking women and their chances of finding employment. Deprivation partially explained the ethnic minority disadvantage in the English labour market.

The complex relationship between immigrants’ concentration, socioeconomic environment and attitudes towards immigrants in Europe

“…In line with previous studies (Hjerm 2007(Hjerm , 2009Branton and Jones 2005;Quillian 1995), we argue that the socioeconomic conditions of the areas in which individuals reside might condition how they react to an increase in the share of immigrants. Living in areas with poorer socioeconomic conditions often leads to greater exposure to crime, social disorder, and physical decay (Branton and Jones 2005); spatial deprivation has also been shown to exert negative effects on individuals' outcomes, such as their employment and educational opportunities (Feng, Flowerdew, and Feng 2015;Fleischmann et al 2012), but also their levels of mortality and health (Boyle, Norman, and Rees 2004). These processes might not only increase the groups' competition for resources, but also affect daily relationships and hence how individuals observe outgroup members.…”

Employment and earning differences in the early career of ethnic minority British graduates: the importance of university career, parental background and area characteristics

“…This can be especially important for ethnic minorities who often rely more on social networks in job search than white British job-seekers (Battu, Seaman, and Zenou 2011;Dustmann, Glitz, and Schonberg 2016). A second reason for studying the local community is that ethnic minority graduates also come on average from more deprived areas which may offer few (graduate) employment opportunities, making it harder to find work (Feng, Flowerdew, and Feng 2015). Persistent differences in outcomes may be the result of ethnic minority graduates not living near where the jobs are (Hellerstein, Neumark, and McInerney 2008;Zenou 2013).…”

Ethnicity and neighbourhood attainment in England and Wales: A study of second generations' spatial integration

“…22 We observe the opposite effect only for African when measuring access to less concentrated areas, but this might be related to the fact that there are very few Africans from middle-low dense areas. 23 The negative effects of neighbourhood deprivation on a series of outcomes, such as employment (Feng, Flowerdew, & Feng, 2013) or mortality and health (Boyle, Norman, & Rees, 2004), are well-known. Moreover, although the effect of ethnic concentration is more complex to assess and depends greatly on the outcomes studied, research in the United Kingdom shows for example negative effects on Pakistanis and Bangladeshis' labour market outcomes (Clark & Drinkwater, 2002;Khattab, Johnston, Sirkeci, & Modood, 2010;Zuccotti & Platt, 2017).…”