Assimilation, Changes in Cohort Quality, and the Earnings of Immigrants

George Borjas

Chapter 2 in Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, 2021, pp 3-29 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: This paper reexamines the empirical basis for two “facts” that seem to be found in most cross-section studies of immigrant earnings: (1) the earnings of immigrants grow rapidly as they assimilate into the United States; and (2) this rapid growth leads to many immigrants’ overtaking the earnings of the natives within 10-15 years after immigration. Using the 1970 and 1980 U.S. censuses, this paper studies the earnings growth experienced by specific immigrant cohorts during the period 1970-80. It is found that within-cohort growth is significantly smaller than the growth predicted by cross-section regressions for most immigrant groups. This differential is consistent with the hypothesis that there has been a secular decline in the “quality” of immigrants admitted to the United States.

Keywords: Immigration; Economics; Labor Markets; Refugees; Self-selection; Return Migration; Migration; Costs and Benefits from Immigration; Assimilation; Cohort Effects; National Origin; Ethnicity; Neighborhood Effects; Ethnic Capital; Internal Migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F66 J01 J15 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Journal Article: Assimilation, Changes in Cohort Quality, and the Earnings of Immigrants (1985)
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