Ethnic gaps in educational attainment and labor-market outcomes: evidence from France

We use data from the Trajectoires et Origines survey to analyze ethnic gaps in education and labor-market outcomes between second-generation immigrants and their French-native counterparts. Our three main findings underscore the importance of family background in explaining lifelong ethnic inequalities. First, second-generation immigrants are on average less likely to experience education success than their native counterparts, with the education gap mainly being rooted in ethnic differences in family backgrounds. Second, while second-generation immigrants have on average a lower probability of employment and lower wages than natives, both gaps are mainly explained by the differences in education. Third, we find considerable heterogeneity across ethnic groups.