Cultural identity, immigrant assimilation and socioeconomic inequalities.

Summary Questions relating to the integration of immigrants and their descendants are not new in the economic literature. However, they have mostly been dealt with from the point of view of the economic efficiency of immigration or discrimination. Cultural assimilation, on the other hand, is regularly at the heart of public debate, particularly through the notions of national and cultural identity. The theory of identity appeared in economics about ten years ago and has made it possible to improve the understanding of individuals' decisions when they define themselves by their membership in one or more groups to which norms of behavior are attached. Using this theory, we look at the extent to which cultural identity, considered as the expression of the cultural assimilation of immigrants, allows us to improve our understanding of socioeconomic inequalities. After recalling the importance of the family context and the level of education in the professional success of immigrants and descendants of immigrants, we analyze the formation of cultural identity. If ethnic identity decreases with time spent in the host country, it also depends on the way it is measured. We then show a negative impact of ethnic identity on access to employment and political participation but a neutral impact on wage level. Finally, using a controlled laboratory experiment, we test more generally the significant influence of group identity on individual decisions.