3GEN

In France, people with a foreign background amount to a third of the general population when immigrants, their children and grandchildren are included (first, second and third generations). Yet, French and international research on immigrants and their descendants has proven limited in two main ways. First, despite repeated calls to extend immigration scholarship to the third generation, empirical research has been restricted to the first and second generations. Second, research has mostly relied on comparisons of subpopulations (natives vs. first vs. second generations) composed of unrelated individuals, while understanding the socioeconomic outcomes of immigrants’ descendants requires an analysis of the intergenerational transmission of (dis)advantages occurring within immigrant families. The 3GEN project aims at overcoming these two limitations and advancing the study of immigration and social stratification by using unique within-family data on three generations of natives and immigrants in France—the Trajectoires et Origines 2 (TeO2) survey and in-depth interviews. Research questions are organized around two overarching objectives: (1) describing patterns of social inequality and reproduction in immigrant families and (2) explaining how they arise and persist. We will make six major contributions. First, the 3GEN project will provide a systematic assessment of the socioeconomic situation of the third generation in comparison to natives and members of the first and second generations. Relying on full information on parental and grandparental countries of birth—as we will do here—is the only way to paint a reliable picture of the third generation, but is nearly impossible with currently available data worldwide. Our second contribution will be to analyze the strength of the intergeneration reproduction of educational attainment and occupational status within immigrant families across three generations and determine how it differs from social reproduction within native families. We will thus bridge the gap between mainstream stratification research on multiple generations and the study of immigrant families. Third, the 3GEN project will expand existing knowledge by analyzing the effect of immigrants’ pre-migration characteristics on the third generation, in addition to the second, and on labor market outcomes, in addition to educational attainment. Thanks to the TeO2 survey, we will be able to use much more precise measures of pre-migration characteristics than previous research. Fourth, to our knowledge, no prior studies have investigated the links between neighborhood mobility and social mobility across three generations. This project will therefore make a substantial international contribution by investigating whether the role of contextual mobility in intergenerational social mobility varies between immigrant and native families, and identify the neighborhood characteristics that hinder or promote intergenerational mobility. Fifth, a major novelty of the 3GEN project will be to extend previous research by looking at the effect of intermarriage on the socioeconomic outcomes, not only of children, but also of grandchildren. In addition, we will contribute to the international literature by producing the first study that analyzes the link between intermarriage and social fluidity across multiple generations. Sixth, this project will contribute to highlighting the role of gender and origins on socioeconomic inequality among immigrants. Adopting an intersectional perspective, we will always consider intra-group heterogeneity to avoid essentializing immigrants and their descendants. Overall, with its ten initial team members, two recruited postdocs, five work packages over four years, the 3GEN project aims at producing new knowledge that will substantially advance several scientific fields both in France and internationally.