Aboriginals as unwilling immigrants: Contact, assimilation and labour market outcomes

Peter Kuhn () and Arthur Sweetman ()

Journal of Population Economics, 2002, vol. 15, issue 2, pages 331-355

Abstract: Like immigrants, aboriginal populations' economic success may be enhanced by the acquisition of skills and traits appropriate to the "majority" culture in which they reside. Using 1991 Canadian Census data, we show that Aboriginal labour market success is greater for Aboriginals whose ancestors intermarried with non-Aboriginals, for those who live off Indian reserves, and for those who live outside the Yukon and Northwest Territories. While these three "facts" could also be explained by a combination of other processes, such as discrimination, physical remoteness, and selection, only the skill/trait acquisition, or "assimilation" hypothesis is consistent with all three.

Keywords: Aboriginal; ·; wages; ·; employment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 J7 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002 Written
Note: Received: 04 August 1998/Accepted: 12 October 2000
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