New Caledonia is the largest French Territory in South Pacific and one of the largest economies in the Pacific Island region. It differs from other French overseas territories and from more islands in Oceania, by high standard of living and human development (GDP per capita comparable to New Zealand). As the last decade has seen a significant economic and social development, especially through investments in nickel mining, there are still significant disparities in income distribution. Those inequalities have ethnic and geographical backgrounds.

Like the great neighboring countries that have experienced comparable human settlements, New Caledonia is characterized by important cultural heterogeneity (Pacific communities represent about 57% of the population, compare to 34% for the European community and 4.5% for the Asian community). In New-Caledonia, Kanak (indigenous people) don't enjoy the same socio-economic endowments than non Kanak. In response to those inequalities, 'closing the gap' policies have been involved for 20 years.

This study attempts to look deeper into ethnic inequalities with respect to school achievement and transition from education to the labour market. Using data from the last four censuses (1989, 1996, 2004 and 2009), we show that while dramatic progress has been made in regard with school achievement, employment rates remain quite different across communities. Contrary to metropolitan France, New Caledonia can identify the ethnicity of its inhabitants. This study is therefore based on very original data among the French republican framework.

For diplomas as for jobs, qualitative analysis shows that the higher the level, the greater the inequalities. Controlling for individual characteristics, the impact of ethnicity on employment's probability declines over the last 20 years but remains significant. It appears that improvements made in education achievement are not rewarded on the labor market. This result raises the question of incentives in human capital investment for Kanak, who are still marginalized in access to the highest positions.

Keywords: Evolution of ethnic inequalities, access to education and job, closing the gap policies.

JEL Classification: I24, I38, J15, O56.

Samuel Gorohouna, Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne, Université Paris.

Catherine Ris, Laboratoire de recherches juridiques et économiques (LARJE), Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie.