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Title: Local Ethnic Capital and the Intergenerational Occupation Mobility of Immigrants

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2019

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Abstract: The average human capital of an ethnic group is a major factor in the economic outcomes of future generations. Naturally, there are variations in skills within ethnic groups across geo- graphic settlements. Therefore, variations in skills across settlements of the same ethnic group can explain divergent outcomes within ethnic groups. In this paper, I investigate the interplay between the average skills of an immigrant group, termed general ethnic capital (GEC), and local measures of skills for that immigrant group, termed local ethnic capital (LEC). I first link foreign-born males observed in the 1920 and 1940 full-count US censuses using a probabilistic machine learning method. Using these linked records, I analyze the interplay between GEC and LEC. While GEC remains a significant factor, LEC is a major determinant in the intergenera- tional economic mobility of immigrants. I find that a one-unit increase in LEC is associated with a 0.14 to 0.28 standard deviation greater occupation income score, an 8 to 11 percent increase in wage and salary income, and a 10 to 16 percentage point increase in the likelihood of high school completion.

Url: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_5GEcHkWZ7cI-g68aH5XAfFhfrVOX9Wh/view

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Authors: Alemu, Besufekad

Publisher: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Data Collections: IPUMS USA - Ancestry Full Count Data

Topics: Migration and Immigration, Population Mobility and Spatial Demography

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