Working Paper: NBER ID: w19116
Authors: George J. Borjas
Abstract: This paper examines the evolution of immigrant earnings in the United States between 1970 and 2010. There are cohort effects not only in wage levels, with more recent cohorts having lower entry wages through 1990, but also in the rate of wage growth, with more recent cohorts experiencing less economic assimilation. The slowdown in assimilation is partly related to a concurrent decline in the rate at which the new immigrants add to their human capital stock, as measured by English language proficiency. The data also suggest that the rate of economic assimilation is significantly lower for larger national origin groups.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J24; J60; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cohort arrival after 1980s (J11) | Decline in rate of economic assimilation (J69) |
| Cohort entering between 1995 and 1999 (I21) | No wage convergence with natives (J79) |
| Earlier cohorts (B15) | Significant wage growth (J31) |
| Decline in assimilation rates (J11) | Reduced rate of human capital accumulation (D29) |
| Reduced rate of human capital accumulation (D29) | Worsened English language proficiency (I24) |
| Growth in size of national origin groups (J11) | Negative effect on rate of economic assimilation (F66) |