Urban Restructuring, Polarisation and Immigrants' Opportunities: The Case of Russian Immigrants in Tel-Aviv

Abstract

The study deals with restructuring processes in the city of Tel-Aviv and examines several of the major arguments of the restructuring approach through the investigation of the occupational integration of immigrants from the former Soviet Union into the economy of the city. The study examines hypotheses on occupational and income polarisation in the restructuring economy of Israel's main business centre. Using data from censuses and income surveys which were conducted by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics over the period 1983-94, the study compares distributions of veteran Israelis and recent immigrants among economic sectors and occupations in the city of Tel-Aviv and the country as a whole. The findings show that both occupational and income polarisation are greater in the city than in the country as a whole. It is also demonstrated that this trend of occupational and income polarisation is more pronounced among the new immigrants. The findings lend support to the restructuring approach.