published as 'Oppositional identities and the labor market' in: Journal of Population Economics, 2007, 20 (3), 643-667
We develop a model in which non-white individuals are defined with respect to their social
environment (family, friends, neighbors) and their attachments to their culture of origin
(religion, language), and in which jobs are mainly found through social networks. We found
that, depending on how strong they are linked to their culture of origin, non-whites choose to
adopt “oppositional” identities since some individuals may identify with the dominant culture
(status seekers) and others may reject that culture (conformists), even if it implies adverse
labor market outcomes. We then test this model using a unique data set that contains
extensive information on various issues surrounding ethnic identity and preferences in
Britain. We find considerable heterogeneity in the ethnic population of Britain in terms of
ethnic preferences. One group, namely the African-Asians, stand out in having preferences
that accord with the notion of them being status seekers. Such preferences are closely tied to
a range of assimilation variables and those non-whites who have preferences that accord
with being a conformist do experience an employment penalty.
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