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Examining the U.S. Labor Market Performance of Immigrant Workers in the Presence of Network Effects

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  • Gihoon Hong

Abstract

Networks are thought to have an important impact on individuals’ access to labor markets. Yet, it is a challenging task to identify network effects because the functioning of networks relies heavily on unobservables that may be correlated with other productivity-related characteristics. In this study, we quantify the importance of networks as a determinant of workers’ labor market outcomes. Using variation in the distance to the nearest Mexican rail lines in the past as a source of identification, we find that the size of the network is positively related to current wages and to the probability of being a documented immigrant. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Gihoon Hong, 2015. "Examining the U.S. Labor Market Performance of Immigrant Workers in the Presence of Network Effects," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 9-26, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jlabre:v:36:y:2015:i:1:p:9-26
    DOI: 10.1007/s12122-014-9191-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Gihoon Hong & Soyoung Lee, 2015. "An empirical analysis of the role of immigrant networks on legalization in the United States," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(4), pages 2317-2325.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Network effects; Mexican immigrants; Earnings; J24; J3; J61;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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