Ethnic Minority Migrants in Britain and France
Integration Trade-Offs

Analyzes migrants' labor market and political integration outcomes. It argues that assimilation trade-offs shape access to economic and political resources.

Rahsaan Maxwell (Author)

9781107004818, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 March 2012

274 pages, 10 b/w illus. 24 tables
24 x 16.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.52 kg

“In his very smart book, Rahsaan Maxwell demonstrates the disconnections between social integration and economic and political integration. These are extremely important issues and although he focuses on France and the UK, his findings concern all developed democracies. His work on France is particularly groundbreaking, given the sensitivity of ethnic issues in the country. Furthermore, his ability to assess discrimination in France in multiple ways that do not require ethnic statistics is highly commendable. Rahsaan Maxwell is one of the most promising scholars of his generation.”—Patrick Weil, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

This book addresses why some ethnic minority migrant groups have better economic and political integration outcomes than others. The central claim is that social integration leads to trade-offs with economic and political integration. The logic behind this claim is that socially segregated groups may have difficulties interacting with mainstream society but will have more capacity for group mobilization. That mobilization can improve economic and political integration. In comparison, socially integrated groups may have greater capacity to interact with mainstream society but also less likelihood of developing significant group mobilization resources. As a result, this can limit their economic and political integration outcomes. Rahsaan Maxwell develops this argument with evidence from Britain and France, claiming that similar group-level dynamics exist despite numerous national-level contextual differences, and provides a brief extension of the argument to The Netherlands and the United States.

1. The argument
2. The history of migration to Britain and France
3. Social and economic integration trade-offs in Britain
4. Social and economic trade-offs in France
5. Political representation
6. Community organization and political influence: the London borough of Brent
7. Community organization and political influence: the Paris suburb Sarcelles
8. An extension of the argument: The Netherlands and the United States.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Ethnic studies [JFSL], Migration, immigration & emigration [JFFN]