The Inter-Ethnic Contacts of Immigrants and Natives in the Netherlands: A Two-Sided Perspective

Research on inter-ethnic contact in Europe usually tells the story only from the perspective of immigrants. This study contributes to the literature by simultaneously examining immigrants' contacts with natives and natives' contacts with immigrants. Using the theory of preferences and structural constraints, hypotheses are formulated about the attitudinal and socio-demographic determinants of inter-ethnic contact for these two groups. Analysis of the data from a Dutch survey, which targeted four large groups of immigrants and the native population, reveals that immigrants more often engage in contact with natives than the other way around. Education is the strongest determinant of inter-ethnic contact, and it works in the opposite direction for the two groups: higher-educated immigrants have more, and higher-educated natives less, inter-ethnic contact. The study further shows that, while both preferences and structural constraints play a role in bringing about inter-ethnic contact, structural constraints seem to be more consequential.