DP6490 Ethnic Identity and Immigrant Homeownership

Author(s): Amelie Constant , Rowan Roberts , Klaus F. Zimmermann

Publication Date: September 2007

Keyword(s): ethnicity , ethnic identity , immigration , immigrant integration , homeownership

JEL(s): F22 , J15 , R21 , Z10

Programme Areas: Labour Economics

Link to this Page: www.cepr.org/pubs/dps/DP6490.asp.asp

Immigrants are much less likely to own their homes than natives, even after controlling for a broad range of life-cycle and socio-economic characteristics and housing market conditions. This paper extends the analysis of immigrant housing tenure choice by explicitly accounting for ethnic identity as a potential influence on the homeownership decision, using a two-dimensional model of ethnic identity that incorporates attachments to both origin and host cultures. The evidence suggests that immigrants with a stronger commitment to the host country are more likely to achieve homeownership for a given set of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, regardless of their level of attachment to their home country.