School segregation have long-term effects on relationship and work segregation
Having immigrant school peers from the same region of origin as oneself have long-term effects on the individual’s relationship and work outcomes. That is one of the conclusions of a new economics study of school segregation in Sweden, from the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg.
– The results highlight the importance of school diversity as an instrument for policy makers who aim at alleviating segregation, the author of the study, Debbie Lau, says.
In her doctoral thesis “Empirical Essays on Education and Health Policy Evaluation” Debbie Lau examines the causal effects of educational and health policies in three standalone studies.
– Identifying the causal effects is one of the biggest challenges in policy evaluation, but it is crucial in order for policy makers to decide which policy they should put the scarce resources in, Debbie Lau says.
Her study of Swedish schools is based on statistical analysis which shows that when the proportion of school peers from the same region of origin is increased, the probability of an immigrant to have a partner and colleagues from the same region of origin later in life, also increases. In detail, raising the proportion with one standard deviation, increases the probability to have same region of origin partner by over 7 percent and the probability of having colleagues from the same region of origin by over 12 percent.
– Another important message delivered by the study is that immigrants are more affected by immigrant peers from the same region of origin than other immigrant peers, which improves our understanding of the formation of social networks of immigrants in Sweden, Debbie Lau says.
The study however does not answer the question of why school segregation affect adulthood segregation, which calls for further studies.
– Is this driven by the fact that the individuals want to socialize with others from the same region of origin, or that they are confined to a social circle with immigrants from the same region of origin? This is an important question to answer because the latter scenario implies that their opportunities are confined due to school segregation, Debbie Lau says.
Link to the thesis: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/64123
Contact Information:
Debbie Lau, Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg.
E-mail: debbie.lau@economics.gu.se
Phone: 0766-18 13 49 (Lars Magnusson, Communications Officer)
Maria Norrström, Director of Communications
School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg
46 31 786 1247, 46 709 226689
maria.norrstrom@handels.gu.se
School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg
With about 7000 students, 490 employees, more than 160 international partner universities and the main subjects business administration, economics and law, the School has a unique broadness. The School is also characterized by its close relation between research and education, internationalization, overall embeddedness of sustainability and its close engagement with business and society. The School is accredited by EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA and thereby the only "Triple Crown" accredited business school in Sweden.
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