Performance of skilled migrants in the U.S.: A dynamic approach

Aaditya Mattoo, Ileana Neagu Constantinescu and Çağlar Özden

Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2012, vol. 42, issue 5, 829-843

Abstract: The initial occupational placements of male immigrants in the U.S. labor market vary significantly by country of origin even when education and other individual factors are taken into account. Does the heterogeneity persist over time? Using data from the 1980, 1990, and 2000 censuses, this paper finds that the performance of migrants from countries with lower initial occupational placement levels improves at a higher rate compared with that of migrants originating from countries with higher initial performance levels. Nevertheless, the magnitude of convergence suggests that full catch-up is unlikely. Country specific attributes affect the immigrants' occupational placement primarily through their effect on initial performance and they lose significance when initial occupational levels are controlled for in the estimation.

Keywords: Migration; Assimilation; Skilled occupation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 H52 J24 O24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: Performance of skilled migrants in the U.S.: a dynamic approach (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:regeco:v:42:y:2012:i:5:p:829-843

DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2012.06.001

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