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Can immigrants ever earn as much as native workers?

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  • Kathryn H. Anderson

    (Vanderbilt University, USA, CASE, Poland, and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

Immigrants contribute to the economic development of the host country, but they earn less at entry and it takes many years for them to achieve parity of income. For some immigrant groups, the wage gap never closes. There is a wide variation across countries in the entry wage gap and the speed of wage assimilation over time. Wage assimilation is affected by year of entry, immigrant skill, ethnicity, and gender. Policies that facilitate assimilation of immigrant workers provide support for education, language, and employment. Such policies can also reduce barriers to entry, encourage naturalization, and target selection of immigrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn H. Anderson, 2015. "Can immigrants ever earn as much as native workers?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 159-159, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izawol:journl:y:2015:n:159
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Christina Gathmann & Nicolas Keller, 2014. "Returns to Citizenship?: Evidence from Germany's Recent Immigration Reforms," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 656, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
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    8. Alicia Adsera & Barry Chiswick, 2007. "Are there gender and country of origin differences in immigrant labor market outcomes across European destinations?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 20(3), pages 495-526, July.
    9. George J. Borjas, 2021. "The Slowdown in the Economic Assimilation of Immigrants: Aging and Cohort Effects Revisited Again," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 3, pages 31-65, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. John Hayfron, 2001. "Language training, language proficiency and earnings of immigrants in Norway," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(15), pages 1971-1979.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Léa Marchal & Guzman Ourens & Giulia Sabbadini, 2022. "When Immigrants Meet Exporters: A Reassessment of the Immigrant Wage Gap," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-03905529, HAL.
    2. Paul Bisschop & Bas Weel & Jelle Zwetsloot, 2020. "Ethnic Employment Gaps of Graduates in the Netherlands," De Economist, Springer, vol. 168(4), pages 577-598, December.
    3. Bisschop, Paul & ter Weel, Bas & Zwetsloot, Jelle, 2020. "Ethnic Employment Gaps of Graduates in the Netherlands," IZA Discussion Papers 13750, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Selda Dudu, 2022. "Employability and Labor Income of Immigrants in the US: A Special Focus on the Roles of Language and Home Country Income Level," World Journal of Applied Economics, WERI-World Economic Research Institute, vol. 8(1), pages 15-34, June.
    5. Paul Bisschop & Bas ter Weel & Jelle Zwetsloot, 2020. "Ethnic employment gaps of graduates in the Netherlands," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 20-068/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    6. Jan Stenis, 2020. "An Economic Instrument to Improve Migration," Applied Economics and Finance, Redfame publishing, vol. 7(1), pages 15-20, January.
    7. Laurence, James & Kelly, Elish & McGinnity, Frances & Curristan, Sarah, 2023. "Wages and working conditions of non-Irish nationals in Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number JR2, June.
    8. Danielle Annoni & Karine de Souza Silva & Gabriela Martini dos Santos, 2022. "Solidarity Economy and social inclusion: The Immigrant Fair in Florianópolis, Brazil," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(2), March.
    9. McGinnity, Frances & Quinn, Emma & McCullough, Evie & Enright, Shannen, 2021. "Measures to combat racial discrimination and promote diversity in the labour market: A review of evidence," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number SUSTAT110, June.
    10. Eva Ivanová & Eva Grmanová, 2021. "The Sustainability of EU Labor Immigration in Terms of Poverty Inequalities and Employment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration; wages; inequality; assimilation; integration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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