"Le Bruit et L’Odeur": Discrimination, Work and Fertility among Migrants in France

Talk by Simone Moriconi (IESEG School of Management) as part of the Research Seminar Series of the IOS Economics Department.

Using survey data "Trajectoires et Origines" this paper investigates how the experience of discrimination (e.g., due to origins and skin color) alters the set of incentives that relate to the economic integration of a migrant household. We find an effect of discrimination on household level decisions in terms towards more work and lower fertility for 1.5 generation migrants in France. We argue this effect is associated with a ‘scarring effect’, that also induces lower trust into French institutions, a lower political engagement, and a more segregated marriage behavior of migrants in the destination. We point out these forces by exploiting exposure of young immigrants to two consecutive anti-immigrant governments (led by E. Balladur, and A. Jupp´e, respectively) during the years 1993-1997. We argue that this anti-migration atmosphere finds its policy expression in the The Pasqua Law → restriction of “Ius Soli” for 2nd generation migrants.