Drawing on data from ISTAT’s survey on the Social Condition and Integration of Foreign Citizens, Alessio Buonomo, Stefania Capecchi, Francesca Di Iorio and Salvatore Strozza examine the association between cultural identity and the probability of being employed. Their results show that immigrants who are both attached to their country of origin and identify with Italian society display the most favourable employment outcomes.
What helps, or hinders, access to work for people with a migratory background? This is a central question, especially during periods of economic crisis when opportunities shrink and the most vulnerable risk being left at the margins. Among the many factors studied in research on immigrants’ employment chances (such as age, gender, schooling and years of residence) one aspect has received relatively little attention: cultural identity, that is, how people position themselves in relation to both the country of origin and the destination country. We explored this dimension in a recent study (Buonomo et al 2025), using nationally representative SCIF data covering 2011-2012, during the peak of the Great Recession in Italy.
A multidimensional approach: the Ethnosizer
Direct questions of the type “What nationality defines you best?” may not suffice to capture cultural identity among people with a migratory background. Self-identification is important, but it can be affected by social desirability and personal interpretation. To address these possible sources of bias, we drew inspiration from the Ethnosizer, a multidimensional indicator proposed by Constant, Gataullina and Zimmermann (2009), which combines self-perceptions with observable behaviours. In our study we adapted the Ethnosizer to the Italian context, considering five dimensions proposed by the original authors: knowledge of language, media use, sense of belonging, social networks and migration intentions. For each dimension, we assessed the strength of identification with both the country of origin (minority identity) and the destination country (majority identity).
This approach distinguishes four profiles (Table 1):
1) Integrated individuals show strong ties to both their country of origin and to Italy.
2) Assimilated individuals identify strongly with Italy and have weak ties to their country of origin.
3) Separated individuals maintain a strong attachment to their country of origin but a weak connection to Italy.
4) Marginalised individuals show weak identification with both cultures.
Dual identity is the most advantageous
Analyses based on Probit models show that cultural identity is significantly associated with the probability of being employed (Figure 1). Compared with assimilated immigrants (those who identify strongly with Italy but have weak ties to their country of origin), integrated immigrants (those who maintain strong identification with both Italy and their origin country) have a markedly higher probability of being employed. This configuration is therefore the most advantageous, suggesting that dual cultural belonging is associated with more favourable labour market outcomes. At the opposite extreme are marginalised immigrants, whose probability of being employed is significantly lower. Separated immigrants are also disadvantaged relative to assimilated immigrants, although less markedly so than marginalised immigrants.
The association between identity and employment is statistically significant and remains robust when controlling for a wide range of individual and family characteristics, including age, education, country of origin, time since migration, partnership status and number of children (Figure 1). A particularly important finding concerns origin identity, often perceived as an obstacle to integration. Our analyses show that maintaining a strong attachment to the country of origin is not associated with negative effects if accompanied by an equally solid identification with Italian society. The most favourable condition is that of a dual cultural identity, namely a strong link with the country of origin alongside strong identification with Italy.
Territorial and gender differences
Further analyses show that the positive role of integrated identity is more marked in northern Italy, where the labour market is more formal and structured. In the south, where informal employment and ethnic networks weigh more heavily, a separated identity can sometimes be positively associated with access to employment, in some cases even more so than the Italian-only (assimilated) profile. Gender differences are also relevant. The integrated profile has a stronger impact for women, plausibly because many women work in domestic and care roles where employment depends both on trust from Italian families and, at the same time, on access to migrant networks. For men, separated or marginalised identities are particularly disadvantageous.
Promoting dual belonging?
It is important to stress that these results describe statistical associations rather than causal relationships. Although certain identity profiles are systematically associated with a higher or lower probability of employment, we cannot exclude bidirectional mechanisms. For example, being employed may in turn strengthen a sense of belonging to the host society or attenuate forms of marginalisation. In the absence of longitudinal data or specific instruments, a definitive causal link cannot be identified.
Nevertheless, the results have concrete implications. In public debate, “integration” and “cultural rootedness” are often described as opposites, but our data suggest that no trade-off between the two is necessary. On the contrary, the combination of a sense of belonging to the country of origin and identification with Italian society appears to be the most advantageous configuration in employment terms. Accordingly, integration policies should not discourage the preservation of cultures of origin but rather promote dual belonging, enabling individuals to move with ease across multiple cultural worlds. This configuration is associated with higher levels of labour market inclusion and enhances the employment potential of people with a migratory background.
References
Buonomo, A., Capecchi, S., Di Iorio, F., & Strozza, S. (2025). Does cultural identity influence the probability of employment during economic crises? Journal of Population Economics, 38(61). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-025-01116-0.
Constant, A. F., Gataullina, L., & Zimmermann, K. F. (2009). Ethnosizing immigrants. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 69(3), 274–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2008.10.005.