Differences in group discrimination, as perceived by immigrants from different origin countries in 14 EU member states

Drawing on the second and third wave of the European Social Survey, we analyse the perception of in-group discrimination of 7034 immigrants from 177 different countries of origin in 14 European Union countries. In addition to testing the effects of individual factors, such as education, religion, and migration history, we estimate the effects of macro-characteristics of both origin and destination countries. We distinguish four dimensions of explanations: immigration, religion, economic circumstances and immigration policies. The influence of adherence to Eastern Orthodox, Jewish and non-Christian religions on perceived in-group discrimination is significant, and cannot be explained by characteristics of the origin or destination countries. The migration history of these groups is also relevant for the perceived discrimination: immigrants who are citizens of the country of their destination, who speak the majority language at home and who are married to a native perceive in-group discrimination less often. There are strong effects of the macro-characteristics of the country of origin. Immigrants from poorer origin countries perceive in-group discrimination more often. There are also a significant effects of immigration policies of the country of destination: easy access to long term residence, more relaxed rules for family reunion, no special policy or a more easy entrance to the labour-market for immigrants and a higher level of job protection decreases perceived in-group discrimination among immigrants