ETHNIC-INEQUALITY IN-HOME OWNERSHIP AND THE VALUE OF HOUSING - THE CASE OF IMMIGRANTS IN ISRAEL

This article aims to contribute to art understanding of how immigrants are incorporated into the stratification system by focusing on owners hip of housing. The hypothesis is that time of immigration and place o f residence account for a large portion of the ethnic disparities in w ealth in Israel, independent of human capital and success in the labor market. Data from the 1986/87 Household Expenditure Survey were emplo yed in order to estimate the probability of home ownership and the val ue of housing for three ravish groups (North African, Asian, and Europ ean), who immigrated to Israel during different periods. The findings reveal that (2) time of migration has a monotonic relationship to home ownership; (2) North African immigrants are severely disadvantaged re lative to other ravish groups and this is due, in part, to the fact th at they arrived later and were directed to development towns in the pe riphery; (3) immigrants from Asia and from Europe have similar home ow nership rates; but an advantage in factor of European immigrants is ev ident once time of migration is controlled. The findings are discussed in light of their significance for ethnic socioeconomic inequality an d its persistence over generations.