Full Citation

Title: Reversal of the Downward Trend in the Earnings of New Immigrants to the US

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2008

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Abstract: This paper uses the 1960-2000 PUMS to study changes over time in the labor market performance of immigrants in the United States. While data from 1960-1990 show a continuous decline in the earnings of new immigrants, the trend reversed in the 1990s, with newcomers doing as well in 2000, relative to natives, as they had 20 years earlier. This improvement in immigrant performance is not explained by changes in origin-country composition, educational attainment or state of residence. Changes in labor market conditions, including changes in the wage structure which could differentially impact recent arrivals, can account for only a small part of it. The upturn appears to have been caused in part by a shift in immigration policy toward high-skill workers matched with jobs, an increase in the earnings of immigrants from Mexico, and a decline in the earnings of native high school dropouts. The evidence is also consistent with an improvement in immigrant quality within certain origin countries.

Url: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228423803

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Borjas, George J; Friedberg, Rachel M

Publisher: Harvard University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Migration and Immigration, Other

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