Barriers to social mobility for ethnic minorities: a mixed method research of the prospects of Israeli Arabs

Research has documented persistent, albeit declining, ethnic and racial gaps in access to higher education and differences in social mobility patterns. Still, empirical documentation of the mechanisms underlying these disadvantages is limited. We address this lacuna by examining the mechanisms that hinder social mobility among Arab citizens in Israel, drawing on a concurrent mixed-methods design. We document evidence related to four prominent theories explaining the barriers to and opportunities for social mobility that ethno-religious minorities face: human capital, social capital, differential access to higher education, and discrimination. We draw on data from the Israel Income Study (IIS) and multilevel logistic models for the quantitative part of the study, and in-depth interviews of 30 Israeli Arabs for the qualitative part. Our findings emphasize that human capital is deeply intertwined with social capital in influencing employment outcomes. They highlight the importance of social capital and the educational system in shaping mobility prospects.