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Foreign-born and native-born migration in the U.S.: evidence from linked IRS administrative and census survey records

Author

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  • Thomas B. Foster

    (U.S. Census Bureau, Center for Administrative Records Research and Applications)

  • Mark J. Ellis

    (University of Washington)

  • Lee Fiorio

    (University of Washington)

Abstract

This paper details efforts to link administrative records from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to American Community Survey (ACS) and 2010 Census microdata for the study of migration among foreign-born and native-born populations in the United States. Specifically, we (1) document our linkage strategy and methodology for inferring migration in IRS records; (2) model selection into and survival across IRS records to determine suitability for research applications; and (3) gauge the efficacy of the IRS records by demonstrating how they can be used to validate and potentially improve migration responses for native-born and foreign-born respondents in ACS microdata. Our results show little evidence of selection or survival bias in the IRS records, suggesting broad generalizability to the nation as a whole. Moreover, we find that the combined IRS 1040, 1099, and W2 records may provide important information on populations, such as the foreign-born, that may be difficult to reach with traditional Census Bureau surveys. Finally, the results of our comparison of IRS and ACS migration responses show that IRS records may be useful in improving ACS migration measurement for respondents whose migration response is proxy, allocated, or imputed. Taking these results together, we discuss the potential application of our longitudinal IRS dataset to innovations in migration research on both the native-born and foreign-born populations of the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas B. Foster & Mark J. Ellis & Lee Fiorio, 2018. "Foreign-born and native-born migration in the U.S.: evidence from linked IRS administrative and census survey records," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 467-498, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joprea:v:35:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s12546-018-9215-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s12546-018-9215-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Randall Akee & Maggie R. Jones, 2019. "Foreign vs. U.S. Graduate Degrees: The Impact on Earnings Assimilation and Return Migration for the Foreign Born," Working Papers 19-17, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    2. Randall Akee & Maggie R. Jones, 2019. "Immigrants’ Earnings Growth and Return Migration from the U.S.: Examining their Determinants using Linked Survey and Administrative Data," NBER Working Papers 25639, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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