Immigrants in the labour markets of France and the United Kingdom: Integration models, institutional variations, and ethnic inequalities

Theories of immigrant integration and political-economic institutions starkly contrast the contemporary labour markets of France and the United Kingdom (UK). We draw out predictions from these theories and then, using Labour Force Surveys that we harmonize ourselves, we empirically examine inequalities that immigrants of disadvantaged minority origins face in labour force participation, employment, and earnings in the two societies. The UK labour market attracts immigrants who have a larger skills advantage over natives. Nevertheless, we find inequalities of strikingly similar magnitude in the two labour markets. In the UK, barriers to labour force participation are paramount, whereas in France, barriers to employment among active job-seekers are more important. Earnings inequalities are less significant in both countries. Overall, we conclude that barriers to opportunity are largely similar in the two countries for immigrants of disadvantaged minority origins.