The Effect of Undergraduate Major Choices on the Earnings of Sub-Saharan African Immigrant and Native-Born College Graduates

Michael Seeborg and Ene Ikpebe

The American Economist, 2021, vol. 66, issue 2, 222-240

Abstract: A very high percentage of sub-Saharan African college-graduate immigrants in the United States have college degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines compared with native-born college graduates. This study uses a pooled cross-section (2013–2018) from the American Community Survey to compare the distribution of undergraduate majors of sub-Saharan African immigrants and native-born college graduates. We estimate ordinary least square (OLS) earnings functions that include detailed college major variables. We find that undergraduate major area of study is a significant predictor of earnings and that there is an overrepresentation of sub-Saharan African immigrants with high-paying undergraduate majors. However, after controlling for human capital differences, college-educated African immigrants have not achieved pay equity with their native-born counterparts. JEL Classifications : J61, J15, J26, I21

Keywords: African immigrants; major; immigrant; college major; earnings; STEM; regression; assimilation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:amerec:v:66:y:2021:i:2:p:222-240

DOI: 10.1177/0569434520936886

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