Rebeca Raijman

The Rise of Anti-foreigner Sentiment in European Societies, 1988-2000:

The study examines change over time in sentiments toward out-group populations in European societies. For this purpose data were compiled from four waves of the Eurobarometer surveys for 12 countries that provided detailed and comparable information on attitudes toward foreigners between 1988 and 2000. A series of multilevel hierarchical linear models were estimated to examine change in the effects of individual- and country-level sources of threat on anti-foreigner sentiment. The analysis shows a substantial rise in antiforeigner sentiment between 1988 and 2000 in all 12 countries. The rise in anti-foreigner sentiment was steep in the early period (between 1988 and 1994), then leveled off after that. Although anti-foreigner sentiment tends to be more pronounced in places with a large proportion of foreign populations and where economic conditions are less prosperous, the effects of both factors on anti-foreigner sentiment have not changed over time. The analysis also shows that anti-foreigner sentiment is more pronounced in places with greater support for right-wing extreme parties. The impact of individual-level socioeconomic characteristics such as education has remained stable over the years, but the effect of political ideology has increased. The meaning and significance of the findings are discussed within the context of European societies.

Foreigners' Impact on European Societies: Public Views and Perceptions in a Cross-National Comparative Perspective

The research examines the extent to which attitudes toward foreigners vary across European countries. Using data from the European Social Survey for 21 countries the analysis reveals that foreigners impact on society is viewed in most countries in negative rather in positive terms. The negative views are most pronounced with regard to foreigners impact on crime and least pronounced with regard to foreigners impact on culture. Multi-level regression analysis demonstrates that the negative views tend to be more pronounced among individuals who are socially and economically vulnerable and among individuals who hold conservative political ideologies. The analysis also reveals that negative attitudes toward foreigners tend to be more pronounced in countries characterized by large proportions of foreigners, where economic conditions are less prosperous, and where support for right-wing political parties is more prevalent. The analysis shows that inflated perception of the size of the foreign population is likely to increase negative views toward foreigners and to mediate the relations between actual size and attitudes toward foreigners impact on society. The findings are presented and discussed in light of sociological theories on individuals and structural sources of public attitudes toward out-group populations and on the role of perceptions in shaping such attitudes.

Immigrants' pathways to business ownership : A comparative ethnic perspective

This paper provides a comparative perspective of pathways to entrepreneurship among Hispanic (mostly Mexican), Korean, non-Hispanic white, and Middle-Eastern/South-Asian entrepreneurs to identify common and unique circumstances conducive to business ownership. A stratified random sample business survey conducted in an immigrant neighborhood in Chicago is analyzed, to determine whether employment in a co-ethnic firm and informal self-employment serve as a stepladder to business ownership. The blocked mobility hypothesis is examined by considering self-reports about reasons for becoming self-employed. Results show that the informal economy is a common pathway to steady self-employment for Hispanics, whereas entry through employment in a co-ethnic firm was more common among Koreans than immigrants from Mexico, the Middle East, and South Asia. Koreans see business ownership as a way to overcome blocked mobility, but virtually all desire their offspring to acquire “good jobs” in the open labor market. For Hispanics, business ownership is not solely an instrument for overcoming discrimination, but rather a strategy for intergenerational mobility.

Determinants of entrepreneurial intentions: Mexican immigrants in Chicago

The subpopulation of Mexican immigrants in Chicago who aspire to become business owners is studied to reveal the factors that influence entrepreneurship in its formative stage, and assess the potential for self-employment and obstacles facing potential business startups. A household survey was administered in 1994 in a Mexican-American Chicago neighborhood.The results were analyzed to identify which factors affected potential entrepreneurship.Potential entrepreneurs did not differ from those not inclined to business with regard to age, marital status, and place of birth.Those inclined to start businesses had slightly higher average education levels, English proficiency, informal self-employment experience, risk tolerance, participation in social networks, and close family members in business. Half the Mexican population surveyed aspired to start a business; one third had taken some steps to do so. The findings showed the value of attitudinal measures in predicting business startups.Social ties linked to business play a central role, and economic resources in the household also positively affect startups. The most common obstacle to starting businesses was lack of financial capital; lack of social capital was an additional barrier.Any policy to encourage business must consider both factors. (TNM)

GENDER, ETHNICITY, AND IMMIGRATION Double Disadvantage and Triple Disadvantage among Recent Immigrant Women in the Israeli Labor Market

This article examines whether recent immigrant women in the Israeli labor market are at a “double disadvantage”—first as immigrants and second as women—and whether and to what extent such disadvantages differ across ethnic and geocultural groups. Data were obtained from the last available population census (1983). The analysis focuses on gender differences in employment opportunities among men and women who immigrated to Israel between 1979 and 1983. Data reveal that the double disadvantage of immigrant women is evident with regard to both labor force participation and occupational attainment. Immigrant women are less likely than immigrant men to join the Israeli labor market, and they face much greater occupational loss. Data also reveal an interaction effect between gender and ethnicity. Immigrant women from the less developed countries in Asia and Africa constitute the most disadvantaged group. This group of women appears to be at a “triple disadvantage.”

International Migration, Domestic Work, and Care Work Undocumented Latina Migrants in Israel

This article discusses three major dilemmas embedded in womens labor migration by focusing on undocumented Latina migrants in Israel. The first is that to break the cycle of blocked mobility in their homelands, migrant women must take jobs that they would have never taken in their countries of origin, despite uncertainty about possible economic outcomes. The second dilemma is that the search for economic betterment leads Latina migrants to risk living and working illegally in the host country, forcing them to remain on the margins of society. The third dilemma relates to the role of mothers who, to secure a better future for their children, are forced to leave them behind, thus subverting the traditional definition of motherhood. The absence of an egalitarian notion and the practice of citizenship for non-Jews leave undocumented labor migrants in Israel without prospects for incorporation into the society.

Perceived threat and exclusionary attitudes towards foreign workers in Israel

The present article focuses on determinants of attitudes towards granting social rights to overseas labour migrants in Israeli society. The analysis is based on a national representative sample of the adult population in Israel. The findings reveal that a substantial number of respondents (both Jews and Arabs) oppose granting equal social rights (i.e. education, welfare, health, housing) to foreign workers. These attitudes can partially be explained as resulting from perceived threat to social and economic well-being of individuals as well as threat to national identity and Jewish character of the state. Part of the exclusionary attitudes that cannot be attributed to threats, are explained by individuals’ socio-economic characteristics, ethnicity and political orientation. The findings are discussed within the context of Israel as an ethno-national state.

Ethnic foundations of economic transactions: Mexican and Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in Chicago

Although researchers have chronicled the high rate of entrepreneurship in Chicago among recent Asian immigrants, especially Koreans, few studies examine groups with low rates of self-employment, such as Mexicans. In this article we analyse a unique survey of business owners operating in an immigrant community to identify circumstances that help and hinder entrepreneurship by comparing the experiences of Mexicans, with those of Koreans. We find that Korean and Mexican business owners draw on thinner ethnic social networks and do not reap similar advantages from co-ethnic business dealings. Until Mexicans consolidate a market niche, their opportunities to benefit from ethnic vertical integration will remain limited.

Best of Times, Worst of Times, and Occupational Mobility: The Case of Soviet Immigrants in Israel

n This article compares the incorporation of two groups of immigrants from the former Soviet Union into the Israeli labour market. The first group arrived in Israel in 1979 and the second group...in 1990. The first period was characterized by a small number of immigrants (best of times), and the second period was characterized by mass migration (worst of times). Using data sets assembled by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, labour force status of the two groups in Israel were examined four years after arrival (1983 and 1994, respectively). We found no difference in rate of labour force participation but considerable differences in the rate of occupational mobility between the two groups of immigrants. Specifically, the data reveal that immigrants were able to find employment in both periods. However, during periods of mass migration, recent immigrants had experienced higher rates of downward occupational mobility and greater loss of occupational status. (EXCERPT)n

Contesting the limits of political participation : Latinos and black African migrant workers in Israel

The article addresses the significance of migrant associations and of their participatory practices as a vehicle by which migrant workers become political actors and negotiate membership in Israel. We offer a comparative analysis of black African and Latin American undocumented migrant communities to suggest the very fact that they manage to organize in autonomous associations in order to protect their interests, have the ability to mobilize support over issues of concern and raise claims before political authorities unwilling to accord them recognition, attest to the process whereby migrants become political actors and open new platforms of deliberation that enlarge de facto the limits of the Israeli public sphere. Moreover, by articulating their claims in terms of universalized themes such as human suffering and human rights migrants attempt at participating in the host society in the name of a generic category of personhood, one that transcends state-embedded conceptions of citizenship.