Disadvantages of Non-Western Immigrants within the Dutch Labour Market

In a country with a rich immigrant history as the Netherlands, labour market differences still exist between natives and immigrants. This research examines the size of the differences in employment and wage between natives and (non-Western) immigrants. By using an extension of the original Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition (1973), the study further investigates which characteristics and other reasons like discrimination caused these differentials between the two groups within the Dutch labour market. The results show that the reasons are different for the employment- and wage differential between Dutch natives and (non-Western) immigrants, and that possible discrimination might be more existent in the employment section of the labour market.