Keeping Up with the Joneses, Müllers, De Jongs and Svenssons: The Economic Situation of Minority and Majority Youth

Abstract

This chapter studies how economic conditions differ between youth of immigrant background and majority youth in England, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden, with economic resources defined both in terms of family resources and the resources that children command themselves. We find that while immigrant parents tend to have lower incomes and more often suffer from non-employment and economic deprivation, their economic disadvantage does not carry over strongly to their children’s economic and material conditions: Children of immigrants have a similar situation to majority youth in terms of cash margin and material possessions, and they even tend to receive more money from their parents. Youth with immigrant background do however lack an own room more often and are less likely to earn own money from work, and those belonging to the first generation are somewhat more at risk of missing out on activities with friends, due to a lack of money. In general, poorer parents (immigrant as well as majority) tend to give equal amounts of money to their children as other parents, which suggests that they seek to shield their children from the consequences of a worse economy.