Subjective Experience of (Group) Discrimination in Cities of Antwerp and Brussels

This paper investigates the effect of city context on experiences of group discrimination among Second Generation Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in Belgium. Making use of the TIES (The Integration of the European Second generation) project data, we first compare levels of perceived group discrimination in the Capital Region of Brussels (predominantly Francophone) to the city of Antwerp (Flemish) across different domains of life such as street, neighborhood and school. However, we reveal that second generation from the two cities differ substantially on socio-demographic background. To control for composition effects, we make second generation immigrant samples from the two cities reasonable comparisons on socio-demographic background using propensity score matching. Then, we explore how experiences of group discrimination associate with socio-economic integration and perceptions about the local context. Finally, we try to link the results to the divergence of institutions, integration policy practices at the city and regional level. The empirical analysis show that when second generation immigrants are similar in socio-economic background, but live in cities with different policies, institutions as well as ethnic community and host society contexts; they may experience differential levels of group discrimination in particular domains. These domains are indicative of good and bad practices for immigrant integration in these cities.status: publishe