Social Determinants of Labor Market Status of Ethnic Minorities in Britain

The labor market behavior of ethnic communities in advanced societies and the social determinants of labor market outcomes of minority groups are important empirical issues with significant policy consequences. We use detailed micro-data on multiple-origin ethnic minorities in England and Wales to investigate the way different network-based social ties influence individual employment outcomes. We find that the core family structure and contacts with parents and children away (in Britain) increases the probability of self-employment. On the other hand, engagement in organizational social networks is more likely to channel people from ethnic minorities into paid employment. Finally, disaggregating different types of social networks along their compositional characteristics, we find that having ethnic friends is positively associated with the likelihood to be self-employed while integration in mixed or non-ethnic social networks facilitates paid employment among minority individuals. These findings hint at a positive role of social integration on employment opportunities of ethnic communities in host societies.