Decomposing Differences in Employment Outcomes Between Kanak and Other New Caledonians: How Important is the Role of School Achievement?

Abstract

New Caledonia, the largest French Territory in the South Pacific, enjoys a high level of standard of living but is marked by huge social inequalities as a result of geographic and ethnic origin. This study highlights the differences in school achievement and labour market outcomes between Kanak (indigenous people) and non-Kanak. Using data from the four most recent censuses (1989, 1996, 2004 and 2009), we show that though dramatic progress has been made in the area of school achievement, employment rates still differ widely across ethnic groups. We decompose the gap in labour market attachment between Kanak and non-Kanak using the Blinder – Oaxaca decomposition for non-linear regression models. The decomposition shows that at least three-quarters of the gap can be attributed to differences in observed characteristics between Kanak and non-Kanak women. For men, the differences in observed characteristics of the two populations account for 38.5 per cent of the gap.