Hybrideseminar: The persistence of inequality among multiple generations of Moluccan descendants in the Netherlands

We study the integration of Moluccan migrants and their descendants in the Netherlands. We use administrative data on the migration of Moluccan soldiers to the Netherlands in 1951 and match them to their children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. We estimate intra- and intergenerational mobility of Moluccan descendants relative to Dutch natives. The estimates suggest that descendants of the Moluccan migrants have not fully caught up with natives in terms of educational and labour-market outcomes. Children and grandchildren of Moluccan soldiers are up to 17 percentage points less likely to have finished tertiary education, are up to 7 percentage points less likely to have a paid job, fall within lower income ranks and are up to 11 percentage points more likely to work on temporary contracts compared to natives. The greatgrandchildren of the Moluccan immigrants score on average lower at the nationwide cognitive test, which results in lower secondary school track placement and translates into a lower annual income of about €18,000 compared to natives.