Human Capital or Discrimination: Labor Market Entry Disadvantages of Second Generation Turkish Migrants in Germany
Earlier studies disagree whether differences in the human capital configuration or employer discrimination explain second generation Turkish migrants‘ disadvantages when entering the labor market. This research understood the successful completion of an occupational education as part of the human capital configuration and identified it as the major predictor of a successful transition into the labor market. However they disregarded that access to occupational education in Germany is for the most part provided by companies, and hence discrimination can occur already when companies decide whom to take in for their occupational education programs. We therefore analyzed the whole secondary school to labor market transition using data from the German Socioeconomic Panel Study. Human capital variables, including receiving country specific capital as e.g. German language abilities or ethnic composition of networks, did not fully explain the ethnic penalty Turkish migrants experience when entering vocational education. Analyzing who starts and who manages to complete a vocational education, significant residuals for Turkish remain. Estimating labor market entry models, we find vocational education to be one of the strongest predictors of a successful transition into paid labor. Finally, interaction models show that a complete vocational education pays of less for Turkish migrants. The latter finding is direct evidence for statistical discrimination. Our conservative conclusion is that the available human capital measures do not fully explain Turkish migrants‘ disadvantages.
Hunkler, C.