Understanding the Economic Integration of Immigrants: A Wage Decomposition of the Earnings Disparities between Native-Born Canadians and Recent Immigrant Cohorts

Kristyn Frank, Kelli Phythian, David Walters and Paul Anisef
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Kristyn Frank: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, 6th floor Mackinnon Building, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
Kelli Phythian: Department of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, Room 5306 Social Science Centre, London, Ontario, N6A 5C2, Canada
David Walters: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph, 6th floor Mackinnon Building, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
Paul Anisef: Department of Sociology, York University, 803 Research Tower, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada

Social Sciences, 2013, vol. 2, issue 2, 1-22

Abstract: This study assesses whether characteristics relating to ethnic identity and social inclusion influence the earnings of recent immigrants in Canada. Past research has revealed that relevant predictors of immigrant earnings include structural and demographic characteristics, educational credentials and employment-related characteristics. However, due to the unavailability of situational and agency variables in existing surveys, past research has generally been unable to account for the impact of such characteristics on the economic integration of immigrants. Drawing on data from Statistics Canada's Ethnic Diversity Survey, this paper builds on previous research by identifying the relative extent to which sociodemographic, educational and ethnic identity characteristics explain earnings differences between immigrants of two recent cohorts and native-born Canadians. The results indicate that immigrants are disadvantaged in the labor market in terms of characteristics relating to sociodemographics and ethnic identity, but are advantaged in terms of human capital.

Keywords: immigration; ethnic identity; economic integration; wage decomposition; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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