More than Just Neighbors: Immigrant Networks and Jobs in High-Paying Firms

Benoit Dostie (), Rajshri Jayaraman and Natalia Vigezzi
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Benoit Dostie: HEC Montreal
Rajshri Jayaraman: ESMT Berlin & University of Toronto
Natalia Vigezzi: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

No 19065, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: We study whether immigrants' residential networks help provide them access to high-paying firms. Using Canadian longitudinal employer–employee tax data linked to immigration records, we measure employer quality with firm-specific earnings premiums and exploit variation across neighborhoods within larger locales. Neighborhood effects for immigrants operate almost entirely through immigrant-peers, not native-peers. And they are roughly twice as large when immigrant-peers share their country of birth or mother tongue. Effects arise at employer changes rather than through retention, consistent with referral and job-information channels. They nearly triple when co-resident family members are counted as peers, indicating that designs pooling household and neighborhood ties largely capture the former.

Keywords: immigrants; neighborhood peer effects. social networks; referrals; firm pay premiums; linked employer–employee data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D8 J15 J31 J61 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-11
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp19065

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