Cross-national comparisons

Comparative cross-national research on immigrant inequality has been a major focus of study for Jeff since the 1980s.  This research is important to understand the experiences of each country with immigration, and to find out what is different in each country, and what is similar.  As detailed below, the research includes comparisons of Canada with the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, Germany, and most recently, France. What emerges from these studies is that the differences among countries in their experiences with immigration has much to do with the specific immigrants they receive, and with the structure of their mainstream institutions, including labour markets, the welfare state, and educational systems.  The countries are actually similar in that for each of them, discriminatory disadvantage experienced by racial (and as seen in the comparison with France, religious) minorities are pervasive and substantial.  That suggests that differences related to what might be called ‘cultural framing’ of immigrations – related to multiculturalism in Canada, laissez-faire assimilation in the United States, or republicanism secularism in France, for example – do not seem to matter very much.  This is an important conclusion, given the extent of discussion and debate over such cultural reception issues.

Canada and the United Kingdom

1988 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “The institutional structure of immigration as a determinant of inter-racial competition: a comparison of Britain and Canada.” International Migration Review 22,1: 117-146. Reprinted in Ethnicity, Structured Inequality, and the State in Canada and the Federal Republic of Germany, edited by J. Fijalkowski, et al., Frankfurt am Mein: Peter Lang, 1991, pp. 197-230.

1988 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “Less racial discrimination in Canada, or simply less racial conflict? Implications of comparisons with Britain.” Canadian Public Policy – Analyse de Politiques 14,4 (1988) 424-441. Reprinted in abridged form as “Racial conflict in Canada and Britain” in Social Inequality in Canada: Patterns, Problems, Policies, Second Edition, edited by James Curtis, Edward Grabb, and Neil Guppy, Toronto: Prentice-Hall, 1993, pp. 361-78. Reprinted in abridged form in Work in Canada: Readings in the Sociology of Work and Industry, edited by Graham S. Lowe and Harvey Krahn, Scarborough: Nelson Canada, 1993, pp. 154-65. Reprinted in abridged form as “Racial discrimination in Canada and Britain” in Small World: International Readings in Sociology, edited by Lorne Tepperman, James Curtis, Susannah J. Wilson and Alan Wain, Scarborough: Prentice-Hall Canada, 1994, pp. 157-166. Included as a selection in Everyday Life: A Reader, edited by Lorne Tepperman and James Curtis, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1994 (Primis electronic database format).

Canada, the United States and Australia

1994 Jeffrey G. Reitz and R. Breton, The Illusion of Difference: Realities of Ethnicity in Canada and the United States. Toronto: C.D. Howe Institute, 156 pp. Chapter 4, “Prejudice and Discrimination,” reprinted in Racism and Social Inequality in Canada: Concepts, Controversies and Strategies of Resistance, edited by Vic Satzewich, Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, 1998, pp. 47-68. Abridgement of Chapter 4 reprinted as “Prejudice and Discrimination toward Minorities in Canada and the United States,” in Social Inequality in Canada: Patterns, Problems and Policies, Third Edition, edited by James Curtis, Edward Grabb, and Neil Guppy, Toronto: Prentice-Hall Canada, 1999, pp. 357-370; also in fourth edition, Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall , 2004, pp. 410-23.

1997 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “Institutional restructuring and the impact of non-European immigration on the urban areas of the US, Canada, and Australia.” Pp. 77-112 in Canada-Australia: Towards a Second Century of Partnership, edited by Kate Burridge, Lois Foster and Gerry Turcotte. Ottawa: Carleton University Press and the International Council for Canadian Studies.

1998 Jeffrey G. Reitz, Warmth of the Welcome: The Social Causes of Economic Success for Immigrants in Different Nations and Cities. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 312 pp. Honourable Mention, Thomas and Znaniecki Award for “outstanding social science scholarship in the field of international migration,” American Sociological Association, 2000. Nominated for the John Porter Book Award.

2001 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “Terms of Entry: Social Institutions and Immigrant Earnings in American, Canadian and Australian Cities.” Pp. 50-81 in Globalization and the New City: Migrants, Minorities and Urban Transformations in Comparative Perspective, edited by Malcolm Cross and Robert Moore. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

2003 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “Educational Expansion and the Employment Success of Immigrants in the United States and Canada, 1970-1990.” Pp. 151-180 in Jeffrey G. Reitz (ed.), Host Societies and the Reception of Immigrants: Institutions, Markets and Policies, San Diego, CA: Center for Comparative Immigration Research, University of California; condensed version in Raymond Breton and Jeffrey G. Reitz (eds.), Globalization and Society: Processes of Differentiation Examined, Westport CN: Praeger: 2003.

2011 Jeffrey G. Reitz, Heather Zhang, and Naoko Hawkins, “Comparisons of the Success of Racial Minority Immigrant Offspring in the United States, Canada and Australia,” Social Science Research 40,4:1051-66.

2011 Jeffrey Reitz and Ye Zhang, “National and Urban Contexts for Integration of the Immigrant Second Generation in the United States and Canada,” pp. 207-228 in The Next Generation: Immigrant Youth in a Comparative Perspective, edited by Richard Alba and Mary Waters, New York University Press.

Canada and Germany

1999 Jeffrey G. Reitz, Joachim R. Frick, Tony Calabrese, and Gert G. Wagner, “The Institutional Framework of Ethnic Employment Disadvantage: A Comparison of Germany and Canada,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 25,3 : 397-443.

Canada and France

2015 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “The Status of Muslim Minorities Following the Paris Attacks,” pp. 21-27 in After the Paris Attacks: Responses in Canada, Europe, and Around the Globe, ed. by Edward M. Iacobucci and Stephen J. Toope, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

2016 Alexandra Kassir and Jeffrey G. Reitz, “Protesting headscarf ban: a path to becoming more French? A case study of ‘Mamans toutes égales’ and ‘Sorties scolaires avec nous,’ Ethnic and Racial Studies 39,15: 2683- 2700.

2017 Jeffrey G. Reitz, Patrick Simon & Emily Laxer, “Muslims’ social inclusion and exclusion in France, Québec, and Canada: does national context matter?” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43, 15: 2473–2498. DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2017.1313105

2017 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “Multicultural Nation-building and Canada’s Future: Implications of Comparative Research.” Pp. 30-49 in Immigration and the Future of Canadian Society, ed. By Robert Brym, Toronto: Rock’s Mills Press.

2017 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “The Status of Muslim Minorities during the War on Terror.” Chapter 52 in: Reading Sociology: Canadian Perspectives, 3rd Edition, ed. Lorne Tepperman, Patrizia Albanese and Emily Alexander.  Scarborough: Oxford University Press.

2018 Marie-Pier Joly, Jeffrey G. Reitz, “Emotional Stress and the Integration of Muslim Minorities in France and Canada,” International Migration Review 52,4 (December) 1111-1129 DOI: 10.1177/0197918318768551

2020 Emily Laxer, Jeffrey G. Reitz and Patrick Simon, “Muslims’ political and civic incorporation in France and Canada: testing models of participation,” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46,17: 3677-3702. DOI:  10.1080/1369183X.2019.1620418

2020 Emily Laxer, Jeffrey G. Reitz and Patrick Simon, “L’intégration civique des musulmans en France, au Québec et au Canada anglaise: quelle est l’incidence des ‘modèles’ nationaux?” [“Muslims’ Political and Civic Incorporation in France, Québec, and English-Canada: Do National ‘Models’ Play a Role?”]. Pp. 569-599 in Étudier le religieux au Québec: regards d’ici et d’ailleurs, eds. David Koussens, Jean-François Laniel and Jean-Philippe Perreault, Québec: Presses de l’Université Laval.

2022 Jeffrey G. Reitz, Emily Laxer & Patrick Simon, “National cultural frames and Muslims’ economic incorporation: a comparison of France and Canada,” International Migration Review 56,2: 499-532. DOI: 10.1177/01979183211035725

2023 Emily Laxer, Jeffrey G. Reitz & Jessica Stallone. “Challenging the Legitimacy of Exclusion: Muslim Women and Social Boundaries in Different Headscarf Policy Contexts.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 46:5, 987-1009. DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2022.2089535

‘State of the Art’ Overview and Synthesis

2002 Jeffrey G. Reitz, editor, Host Societies and the Reception of Immigrants: Institutions, Markets and Policies, International Migration Review 36, 4 (Winter 2002, special issue): 1005-1168.

2002 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “Host Societies and the Reception of Immigrants: Research Themes, Emerging Theories and Methodological Issues,” International Migration Review 36,4 (Winter): 1005-1019.

2003 Jeffrey G. Reitz, editor, Host Societies and the Reception of Immigrants, San Diego, CA: University of California, Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, 550 pp.

2011 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “En kritisk granskning av Kanadas exempel” (A critical investigation of the Canadian example,” pp. 113 – 139 in Kanadamodellen: hur invandring leder till job (The Canadian Model: How Migration Leads to Jobs), edited by Petter Jojem and Martin Adahl (Stockholm: FORES).

2012 Richard Alba, Jeffrey G. Reitz, Patrick Simon, “National Conceptions of Assimilation, Integration and Cohesion,” pp. 44-64 in The Changing Face of World Cities: Young Adult Children of Immigrants in Europe and the United States, eds. Maurice Crul and John Mollenkopf, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

2012 Jeffrey G. Reitz, “The Distinctiveness of Canadian Immigration Experience,” Patterns of Prejudice 46, 5: 518- 535, Special Issue, “National Models of Integration and the Crisis of Multiculturalism: A Critical Comparative Perspective,” edited by Christophe Bertossi and Jan Willem Duyvendak.

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