Dr Yaojun LiDepartment of SociologyBirmingham University

Email: y.li.3@bham.ac.ukTel: 0121-4158625

Professor Anthony HeathDepartment of Sociology

Oxford University

Labour Market Positionsof Minority Ethnic Groups

in Britain: 1972-2005 For RGS-IBG, 30 August 2006

(ESRC RES-163-25-0003)Project website:http://www.uptap.net/project17.html

Aims:• To conduct a systematic research on the labour market positions and

political orientations of the Minority Ethnic Groups (MEGs) in Britain by analysing harmonized variables on ethnicity, socio-economic position and political orientation from the GHS (1972-2005), LFS (1975-2005), BES (1974-2005), BSA (1983-2004).

• To compare inter- and intra- generational experiences of the MEGs both amongst themselves and between them and the White charter population.

• With regard to the positions in the labour market, we shall focus on employment status, self-employment, occupational attainment, and earnings from paid work.

• With regard to political orientations, we shall examine political participation, political orientation and party support of the MEGs.

• From these comparisons, we wish to assess the extent and nature of ‘ethnic penalties’, particularly those by the second generation, to provide evidence for human capital and social capital theories on ethnic disadvantage, and to explore the extent to which socio-economic integration of the MEGs is matched by their socio-political integration.

Research on ethnic disadvantages-- where academic and policy interests converge

• Academic interests, esp. since 1991 SAR• The 1965 Race Relations Act, which made discrimination in public places

unlawful, but excluding employment and housing• The 1968 Race Relations Act, which made it unlawful to ‘discriminate on

grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins in recruitment, training, promotions, dismissals, and terms and conditions of employment’ (Layton-Henry, 1985)

• The 1976 Race Relations Act, which extended the definition of discrimination to include indirect discrimination

• The 2000 Race Relations (Amendment) Act, placing a general duty on public authorities to eliminate unlawful discrimination

• It is a government objective to eliminate discrimination. ‘Though it is nearly 40 years since the first Race Relations Act, it is clear that racial discrimination in the labour market still persists,’ says Tony Blair and he sets the goal ‘that in ten years’ time, ethnic minority groups should no longer face disproportionate barriers to accessing and realising opportunities for achievement in the labour market’ (Cabinet Office, 2003).

Distributions of Ethnic Groups in Britain 1972-2005

Ethnic | groups: | COT9 | Freq. Percent Cum. ------------+----------------------------------- 1. Wh Brit | 4,263,444 85.66 85.66 2. Wh Irish | 42,554 0.85 86.51 3. Wh Other | 119,353 2.40 88.91 4. B Car | 39,239 0.79 89.70 5. B Afr | 21,021 0.42 90.12 6. Indian | 70,464 1.42 91.53 7. Pak/Bang | 57,512 1.16 92.69 8. Chinese | 10,967 0.22 92.91 9. Other | 86,603 1.74 94.65 . | 266,265 5.35 100.00 ------------+----------------------------------- Total | 4,977,422 100.00

About 450k MEGs

Ethnic distribution by year | Ethnic groups: COT9 year | 1. Wh Bri 2. Wh Iri 3. Wh Oth 4. B Car 5. B Afr 6. Indian 7. Pak/Ba 8. Chines 9. Other | Total -----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------- 1972 | 88.84 0.97 0.89 0.42 0.27 0.66 0.20 0.07 7.67 | 100.00 1973 | 88.20 1.02 0.99 0.51 0.22 0.75 0.31 0.11 7.89 | 100.00 1974 | 88.61 1.09 1.02 0.45 0.24 0.78 0.30 0.10 7.41 | 100.00 1975 | 88.58 1.06 0.96 0.61 0.21 0.85 0.20 0.08 7.45 | 100.00 1976 | 87.62 1.04 0.91 0.48 0.29 0.94 0.24 0.11 8.36 | 100.00 1977 | 87.63 1.11 1.04 0.64 0.36 0.93 0.18 0.11 8.00 | 100.00 1978 | 86.98 0.97 0.94 0.58 0.41 1.27 0.34 0.00 8.52 | 100.00 1979 | 86.61 1.08 1.13 1.15 0.71 1.79 0.65 0.00 6.88 | 100.00 1980 | 88.32 1.01 1.08 1.23 0.78 2.03 0.65 0.00 4.90 | 100.00 1981 | 88.24 1.02 1.21 1.10 0.87 2.31 0.83 0.00 4.44 | 100.00 1982 | 88.63 0.93 1.09 1.02 0.69 2.42 0.75 0.00 4.47 | 100.00 1983 | 92.30 0.97 2.41 0.87 0.15 1.45 0.82 0.17 0.86 | 100.00 1984 | 92.45 0.93 2.40 0.85 0.17 1.43 0.87 0.17 0.73 | 100.00 1985 | 92.80 0.94 2.08 0.94 0.18 1.19 0.86 0.20 0.80 | 100.00 1986 | 92.52 0.94 2.14 0.85 0.16 1.36 0.88 0.18 0.96 | 100.00 1987 | 92.07 0.97 2.40 0.91 0.19 1.37 0.90 0.22 0.97 | 100.00 1988 | 91.64 1.06 2.48 0.82 0.22 1.40 0.98 0.24 1.16 | 100.00 1989 | 91.66 1.05 2.56 0.87 0.25 1.36 1.06 0.22 0.96 | 100.00 1990 | 92.01 0.96 2.40 0.73 0.23 1.33 1.00 0.23 1.12 | 100.00 1991 | 91.57 0.96 2.37 0.73 0.27 1.45 1.20 0.24 1.19 | 100.00 1992 | 90.92 0.89 2.62 0.79 0.40 1.64 1.30 0.27 1.17 | 100.00 1993 | 90.88 0.91 2.61 0.85 0.38 1.58 1.28 0.25 1.27 | 100.00 1994 | 90.81 0.89 2.62 0.84 0.42 1.57 1.27 0.25 1.32 | 100.00 1995 | 90.84 0.90 2.63 0.81 0.44 1.47 1.29 0.21 1.40 | 100.00 1996 | 90.68 0.92 2.65 0.79 0.48 1.48 1.33 0.21 1.46 | 100.00 1997 | 90.23 0.87 2.93 0.78 0.53 1.50 1.34 0.26 1.56 | 100.00 1998 | 89.96 0.83 3.00 0.81 0.53 1.57 1.39 0.26 1.63 | 100.00 1999 | 89.70 0.77 3.24 0.75 0.58 1.54 1.51 0.23 1.68 | 100.00 2000 | 89.65 0.82 2.56 0.88 0.69 1.61 1.66 0.29 1.85 | 100.00 2001 | 88.45 0.80 3.04 1.04 0.88 1.69 1.83 0.32 1.95 | 100.00 2002 | 88.04 0.79 3.04 0.94 0.87 1.75 1.89 0.36 2.33 | 100.00 2003 | 87.83 0.71 3.03 0.90 1.01 1.80 1.99 0.34 2.39 | 100.00 2004 | 87.59 0.69 3.05 0.91 1.09 1.74 2.10 0.43 2.40 | 100.00 2005 | 86.58 0.71 3.44 0.91 1.05 1.96 2.10 0.42 2.84 | 100.00 -----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------- Total | 90.50 0.90 2.53 0.83 0.45 1.50 1.22 0.23 1.84 | 100.00

| Ethnic groups: COT9 year | 1. Wh Bri 2. Wh Iri 3. Wh Oth 4. B Car 5. B Afr 6. Indian 7. Pak/Ba 8. Chines 9. Other | Total -----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------- 1972 | 9,486 161 109 79 43 120 43 10 609 | 10,660 1973 | 9,466 164 149 92 48 117 74 19 631 | 10,760 1974 | 8,742 148 129 69 36 119 66 20 489 | 9,818 1975 | 9,739 158 127 107 39 152 45 16 505 | 10,888 1976 | 9,486 139 129 80 59 157 49 15 572 | 10,686 1977 | 8,506 126 121 83 64 143 37 21 559 | 9,660 1978 | 8,321 121 111 89 72 189 60 0 616 | 9,579 1979 | 8,043 127 118 90 57 172 64 0 551 | 9,222 1980 | 8,322 117 120 121 85 203 49 0 535 | 9,552 1981 | 8,558 123 127 111 81 229 71 0 597 | 9,897 1982 | 7,246 102 96 91 53 222 50 0 528 | 8,388 1983 | 66,452 847 1,836 680 129 1,082 525 144 594 | 72,289 1984 | 50,781 617 1,407 503 122 830 428 94 387 | 55,169 1985 | 52,206 624 1,239 565 131 671 449 127 439 | 56,451 1986 | 52,237 629 1,289 476 120 788 443 108 506 | 56,596 1987 | 51,112 610 1,390 545 125 807 448 124 509 | 55,670 1988 | 51,425 714 1,436 493 133 817 459 154 553 | 56,184 1989 | 51,613 681 1,416 523 148 810 518 137 473 | 56,319 1990 | 49,804 607 1,257 427 135 784 486 135 542 | 54,177 1991 | 49,311 554 1,242 420 157 820 555 146 549 | 53,754 1992 | 49,432 505 1,418 429 213 951 593 158 531 | 54,230 1993 | 73,469 809 2,167 699 313 1,370 871 223 861 | 80,782 1994 | 71,117 764 2,097 658 345 1,307 890 229 856 | 78,263 1995 | 71,124 757 2,120 596 351 1,259 927 199 880 | 78,213 1996 | 71,157 728 2,199 593 389 1,239 944 193 933 | 78,375 1997 | 63,091 603 2,136 505 375 1,125 847 218 890 | 69,790 1998 | 67,504 605 2,356 571 421 1,290 945 218 973 | 74,883 1999 | 60,555 504 2,298 471 358 1,099 946 168 948 | 67,347 2000 | 34,795 306 1,044 315 258 643 594 129 647 | 38,731 2001 | 35,257 296 1,378 393 332 744 679 141 708 | 39,928 2002 | 34,216 294 1,263 331 309 783 701 167 805 | 38,869 2003 | 34,425 258 1,285 328 359 771 737 184 882 | 39,229 2004 | 32,337 220 1,268 309 349 771 734 201 872 | 37,061 2005 | 26,743 180 1,271 253 312 678 613 155 834 | 31,039 -----------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------- Total | 1,296,078 14,198 38,148 12,095 6,521 23,262 15,940 3,853 22,364 | 1,432,459

The employment and occupational status: men aged 16-64

Defining generation and period

Periods 72-80=Recession| 81-96=Conservative| 97-05=New Labour| Freq. Percent Cum. ------------------+----------------------------------- Early: 72-80 | 90,825 6.01 6.01 Middle: 81-96 | 958,851 63.45 69.47 Current: 97-05 | 461,407 30.53 100.00 ------------------+----------------------------------- Total | 1,511,083 100.00

Generation | Freq. Percent Cum. ------------------+----------------------------------- W British | 1,296,078 90.48 90.48 G2:UKborn|fb<=5 | 50,271 3.51 93.99 G1.5:fborn&6-16 | 23,130 1.61 95.60 G1:fborn&>=17 | 62,980 4.40 100.00 ------------------+----------------------------------- Total | 1,432,459 100.00

Time of arrival in Britain0

20

40

60

80

10

0P

erc

ent

Time of arrival to Britain

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

UK born Before 19711972-1980 1981-1996

1997-2005

Generational status of MEGs Ethnic | groups: | Generation status: foreign born+age to UK COT9 | W British G2:UKb|fb G1.5:fb&6 G1:fb&>=1 | Total ------------+--------------------------------------------+---------- 1. Wh Brit | 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 | 100.00 2. Wh Irish | 0.00 20.46 21.36 58.18 | 100.00 3. Wh Other | 0.00 35.26 15.90 48.84 | 100.00 4. B Car | 0.00 51.18 15.15 33.68 | 100.00 5. B Afr | 0.00 25.56 11.53 62.90 | 100.00 6. Indian | 0.00 32.77 20.39 46.84 | 100.00 7. Pak/Bang | 0.00 33.16 25.57 41.27 | 100.00 8. Chinese | 0.00 21.31 21.41 57.28 | 100.00 9. Other | 0.00 55.12 8.05 36.82 | 100.00 ------------+--------------------------------------------+---------- Total | 90.48 3.51 1.61 4.40 | 100.00

Overall patterns of employment Ethnic | groups: | Economic status: COT COT9 | 1. Working 2. Unempl 3.Inactive| Total ------------+---------------------------------+---------- 1. Wh Brit | 79.13 7.29 13.57 | 100.00 2. Wh Irish | 72.17 10.05 17.78 | 100.00 3. Wh Other | 77.91 6.82 15.28 | 100.00 4. B Car | 66.38 15.65 17.97 | 100.00 5. B Afr | 60.10 13.74 26.16 | 100.00 6. Indian | 73.05 8.97 17.98 | 100.00 7. Pak/Bang | 57.05 15.81 27.14 | 100.00 8. Chinese | 63.97 6.38 29.65 | 100.00 9. Other | 69.03 9.94 21.03 | 100.00 ------------+---------------------------------+---------- Total | 78.30 7.57 14.13 | 100.00

Overall patterns of class Ethnic | groups: | Classes: Erikson-Goldthorpe92: COT COT9 | 1. Sal: I 2. RNM: I 3. PB: IV 4. SkM: V 5. S/UN: | Total ------------+-------------------------------------------------------+---------- 1. Wh Brit | 34.34 8.30 12.64 27.89 16.83 | 100.00 2. Wh Irish | 28.32 5.02 18.10 25.99 22.58 | 100.00 3. Wh Other | 46.78 6.99 12.22 18.63 15.37 | 100.00 4. B Car | 20.63 8.53 8.47 35.77 26.60 | 100.00 5. B Afr | 40.95 11.12 7.03 19.44 21.47 | 100.00 6. Indian | 34.95 9.54 16.44 20.52 18.56 | 100.00 7. Pak/Bang | 19.12 8.06 21.26 22.36 29.21 | 100.00 8. Chinese | 36.39 6.43 26.90 8.95 21.33 | 100.00 9. Other | 35.72 9.72 11.03 24.45 19.08 | 100.00 ------------+-------------------------------------------------------+---------- Total | 34.44 8.27 12.77 27.41 17.10 | 100.00

020

4060

8010

0P

erce

nt

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British White Irish

White Other

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being employed

020

4060

80P

erce

nt

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British White Irish

White Other

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being unemployed

020

4060

80P

erce

nt

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British White Irish

White Other

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being economically inactive

020

4060

80P

erce

nt

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British White Irish

White Other

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being in the service class

020

40

60

80

Perc

ent

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British White Irish

White Other

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being in the semi/unskilled working class

020

4060

8010

0P

erce

nt

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British Black CaribbeanBlack African Indian

Pakistani/Bangladeshi Chinese

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Note: The sample sizes for Chinese too small before 1983.

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being employed

02

04

06

08

0P

erc

ent

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British Black CaribbeanBlack African Indian

Pakistani/Bangladeshi Chinese

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Note: The sample sizes for Chinese too small before 1983.

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being unemployed

020

4060

80P

erce

nt

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British Black CaribbeanBlack African Indian

Pakistani/Bangladeshi Chinese

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Note: The sample sizes for Chinese too small before 1983.

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being economically inactive

02

04

06

08

0P

erc

ent

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British Black CaribbeanBlack African Indian

Pakistani/Bangladeshi Chinese

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Note: The sample sizes for Chinese too small before 1983.

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being in the service class

02

04

06

08

0P

erc

ent

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British Black CaribbeanBlack African Indian

Pakistani/Bangladeshi Chinese

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Note: The sample sizes for Chinese too small before 1983.

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being in the semi/unskilled working class

020

4060

80P

erce

nt

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British White IrishWhite Other Black CaribbeanBlack African Indian

Pakistani/Bangladeshi Chinese

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Note: The sample sizes for Chinese too small before 1983.

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being self-employed

020

4060

80P

erce

nt

1972 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005Year

White British White IrishWhite Other Black CaribbeanBlack African Indian

Pakistani/Bangladeshi Chinese

Men aged 16-64 in Britain

Note: The sample sizes for Chinese too small before 1983.

Source: Pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Probablity of being middle-class (salariat&self-employment)

Table 1 Logistic regression coefficients on access to the service class: men aged 16-64 Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Ethnicity White British (ref) 0 0 0 White Irish -.281*** .009 .009 White Other .519*** .567*** .567*** Black Caribbean -.699*** -.444*** -.885*** Black African .282*** -.222*** .438*** Indian .027 -.124*** .043 Pakistani/Bangladeshi -.794*** -.538*** -.675*** Chinese .089* .001 .349 Other .061*** .232*** .233*** Age Age (=age/10) 1.841*** 1.841*** Age squared -.195*** -.195*** Marital Status Married (ref) 0 0 Separated/divorced/widowed -.289*** -.289*** Single -.104*** -.104*** Education Degree+ 3.811*** 3.811*** Professional below degree 2.623*** 2.629*** Professional below degree 1.117*** 1.117*** No higher qualification 1.276*** 1.275*** No higher qualification (ref) 0 0 Number of children under 16 in HH -.034*** -.033*** Period Earlier (1972-1980) (ref) 0 0 Middle (1981-1996) .133*** .139*** Later (1997-2005) -.035*** -.034** Interaction effects Black Caribbean in middle period .354* Black Caribbean in later period .636*** Black African in middle period -.714*** Black African in later period -.771*** Indian in middle period -.260** Indian in later period -.061 Pakistani/Bangladeshi in middle period

.126

Pakistani/Bangladeshi in later period .157 Chinese in middle period -.445 Chinese in later period -.258

Constant -.648*** -5.856*** -5.859*** Pseudo R2 .003 .244 .244 N 1,147,239 1,019,766 1,019,766

Notes

1. * p<0.05, ** p<0.01, *** p<0.001. Source: The pooled data of GHS/LFS.

Table 2 Logistic regression coefficients of generation effects on access to the service class: men aged 16-64 White

Irish White Other

Black Caribbean

Black African

Indian Pakistani/ Bangladeshi

Chinese

No control 2nd Generation .128* -.100*** .909*** -.009 .357*** .356*** .041 1.5th Generation -.312*** -.092** .569*** -.182 .089* -.279*** -.325*** 1st Generation (ref) -.895*** -.079*** -1.928*** -.347*** -.744*** -1.538*** -.456***

With control 2nd Generation -.095 -.326*** .345*** .162 .119* .394*** -.018 1.5th Generation -.259*** -.409*** -.175 .099 -.117* -.129 -.560*** 1st Generation (ref) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Age Age (=age/10) .913*** 2.225*** 2.066*** 1.871*** 1.517*** 1.869*** 2.077*** Age squared -.119*** -.258*** -.258*** -.226*** -.172*** -.199*** -.246***

Marital Status Married (ref) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Separated/divorced/widowed -.233* -.389*** -.236 -.456** -.013 -.345 -.261 Single .142* -.018 -.054 -.276** .015 .067 -.518***

Education Degree+ 3.814*** 2.617*** 3.976*** 2.468*** 3.254*** 3.192*** 3.227*** Professional below degree 2.866*** 1.601*** 2.671*** 1.589*** 2.109*** 2.451*** 2.281*** Professional below degree .792*** .382*** 1.325*** .641*** 1.102*** 1.281*** 1.209*** No higher qualification .955*** .279*** 1.125*** .046 .652*** .734*** .568** No higher qualification (ref) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Number of children under 16 in HH -.083*** -.045** -.059 -.041 -.173*** -149*** -.331*** Constant -3.105*** -4.953*** -6.318*** -4.881*** -4.626*** -6.141 5.184*** Pseudo R2 .239 .185 .243 .200 .275 .262 .294 N 9,127 27,508 7,107 3,776 15,651 8,250 2,103

Main conclusions on labour market situations of men aged 16-2005 in Britain

• Among the invisible MEGs, Irish men were disadvantaged in the earlier period but caught up with the White British from the 1990s onwards, and the White Others almost always had favourable positions, in terms of access to the professional-managerial positions, avoiding the semi and unskilled manual jobs, and unemployment. The employment rates of the Irish men are still lower than those of the White British men in recent years, though.

• Among the visible MEGs, Black Africans were generally more likely to be in professional-managerial positions than the White British men, and the Indians showed no major differences from the White British. Black Caribbean and Pakistani/Bangladeshi men were less likely to be in the professional-managerial positions but the former were making much steady progress than the latter over the 34-year period. The last two groups were also more likely to face unemployment (and Black Africans in the 1990s, too) and to be in unskilled working class positions.

• Pakistani/Bangladeshi men were keen to take self-employment since early 1980s onwards and are now even more likely to be self-employed than the Chinese men. If both salariat and self-employment are counted, as in the conventional sense, as middle class groups, then Pakistani-Bangladeshi men are somewhat less disadvantaged than men of Black Caribbean origins.

• Black Caribbean and Pakistani/Bangladeshi men faced a lot of difficulties in the earlier period but were doing better in later periods. The 2nd generation men from Black African, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi origins were doing better than their 1st generation counterparts in terms of gaining access to the professional-managerial positions.

• The overall pattern is one of convergence, whether we look at gaining access to the advantaged professional-managerial positions, or in avoidance of semi/unskilled working class positions or unemployment. This said, there are still marked differences between the MEGs and the White British men, especially in terms of employment rates.

• The overall balance of the data suggests that the White Others and Indians were the most successful groups in the labour market with the Black Caribbeans and Pakistani/Bangladeshis being disadvantaged.

• Even though several ethnic minority groups are still disadvantaged, there has been remarkable progress at reducing ethnic disadvantages in British society in the past 3 decades. The government Race Relations Acts (1965, 1968, 1976, 2000) seem to have had some notable impacts.

My writings on the labour market• Li, Y. and Pollert, A. (2006) ‘The unorganized worker in WERS 2004: socio-

demographic attributes, workplace characteristics and work-life experience’, research paper commissioned by DTI and RSS.

• Li, Y. (2005) ‘Exploring income differentials: a comparison between human and social capital approaches’, presentation at the ESDS Government Research Conference, British Academy, 4 Nov. 2005: http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/esds/events/2005-11-04/li.doc

• Li, Y. (2005) ‘Social capital, ethnicity and the labour market’, Proceedings of International Conference on Engaging Community, http://engagingcommunities2005.org/abstracts/Li-Yaojun-final.pdf

• Garrat, D. and Li, Y. (2005) ‘The foundations of experimental/empirical research methods’, in B. Somekh and C. Lewin (eds). Research Methods in the Social Sciences, London: Sage, pp: 198-206.

• Li, Y. and R. O’Leary (2004) ‘Progress in reducing Catholic disadvantages in Northern Ireland’, in Anthony Heath and Sin Yi Cheung (eds), Ethnic Differences across Countries, Oxford: OUP.

• Purdam, K. and Li, Y. with Brown, M. and Wathan, J. (2003) A profile of the housing and socio-economic circumstances of black and minority ethnic people in Wales, Cardiff: National Assembly of Wales.

• Li, Y. (2002) ‘Falling off the ladder? Professional and managerial career trajectories and unemployment experiences’, European Sociological Review, 18(3): 253-70.

• Li, Y., Bechhofer, F., McCrone, D., Anderson, M. and Stewart, R. (2002) ‘A Divided Working Class? Planning and Career Perception in the Service and Working Classes’, Work, Employment and Society, 16(4): 617-636.