This article examines differences in labor market participation and unemployment between immigrant groups in different countries. The authors argue that two macro designs must be combined to provide a more comprehensive perspective on the economic integration of immigrant groups. Instead of reliance on observations of multiple-origin groups in a single destination or a single-origin group in multiple destinations, multiple origins in multiple destinations are compared, suggesting that the economic status of immigrants may be affected by the country from which they come (“origin effect”), the country to which they migrate (“destination effect”), and the specific relations between origins and destinations (“community effect”). From the human capital theory, compositional hypotheses are derived, which predict that these macro effects can be attributed to the selection of human capital. From discrimination theories, contextual hypotheses are deduced, which maintain that macro effects can be ascribed to in-group preferences and out-group prejudices. Data on immigrants' labor force activity and employment in 18 Western countries during the period 1980 to 2001 are reported. Using multilevel techniques, the analysis shows that compositional differences associated with political suppression in the countries of origin, relative income inequality, and geographic distance affect the labor force status of immigrants. Contextual effects play a role as well in terms of religious origin, the presence of left wing parties in the government, and the size of the immigrant community.

No abstract

Social participation, defined as socially oriented sharing of individual resources, is often regarded as an important criterion of quality of life in old age. We distinguished three types of participation with respect to content, context, and resources required to participate: collective, productive, and political participation. Data from the multidisciplinary Berlin Aging Study were used to describe social participation of a very old population and to examine individual differences and changes over time. Analyses showed that social participation is cumulative. Individuals who engaged in political activities also took part in the other two types, and those who engaged in productive activities also participated in collective activities. Although many persons changed their social participation over the 4-year period, the cumulative pattern within the population remained unchanged. Educational and occupational resources were positively related to the intensity of social participation in old age, but changes in social participation could be better explained by age and health.

Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

The authors thank René Bekkers, Theo Schuyt and the anonymous reviewers of Social Forces for their comments and suggestions.

No abstract

Ethnically diverse settings provide opportunities for interethnic friendship but can also increase the preference for same-ethnic friendship. Therefore, same-ethnic friendship preferences, or ethnic homophily, can work at cross-purposes with policy recommendations to diversify ethnic representation in social settings. In order to effectively overcome ethnic segregation, we need to identify those factors within diverse settings that exacerbate the tendency toward ethnic homophily. Using unique data and multiple network analyses, the authors examine 529 adolescent friendship networks in English, German, Dutch, and Swedish schools and find that the ethnic composition of school classes relates differently to immigrant and native homophily. Immigrant homophily disproportionately increases as immigrants see more same-ethnic peers, and friendship density among natives has no effect on this. By contrast, native homophily remains relatively low until natives see dense groups of immigrants. The authors' results suggest that theories of interethnic competition and contact opportunities apply differently to ethnic majority and minority groups.

No abstract