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The visible minority earnings gap across generations of Canadians

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  • Mikal Skuterud

Abstract

To what extent the earnings gaps facing Canada’s visible minorities reflect discrimination is a question of tremendous policy interest. This paper argues that failing to account for the limited Canadian ancestry of visible minorities overestimates discrimination if immigrant assimilation is an intergenerational process. Using the 2001 and 2006 Canadian Censuses, weekly earnings, conditional on a rich set of worker and job characteristics, are compared with child immigrant, second‐, and third‐and‐higher‐generation Canadian men. The results reveal a tendency for earnings to increase across subsequent generations of visible minority, but not white, men. Though the pattern is strongest between the first and second generation, for black men it is also evident between the Canadian born with and without a Canadian‐born parent. Despite this progress, for most visible minority groups earnings gaps are identified even among third‐and‐higher‐generation Canadians. Jusqu'à quel point est‐ce que les écarts de gains des minorités visibles au Canada reflètent la discrimination est une question de grand intérêt pour la politique publique. Ce texte suggère que si l'on ne tient pas compte des racines ancestrales canadiennes récentes des minorités visibles, on peut surestimer le degré de discrimination si dans les faits l'assimilation des immigrants est un processus intergénérationnel. A l'aide des recensements canadiens de 2001 et de 2006, on compare les gains hebdomadaires (pour des groupes de travailleurs et de tâches bien définis) d'hommes qui sont fils d'immigrants, de seconde génération, de troisième génération ou plus. Les résultats montrent une tendance pour le niveau des gains à s'accroître à la génération subséquente pour les minorités visibles mais pas pour les hommes blancs. Même si le pattern est le plus prononcé entre la première et la seconde génération, pour les hommes noirs c'est aussi évident entre les personnes nées au Canada qui ont ou qui n'ont pas un parent né au Canada. Malgré ce progrès, on identifie des écarts de gains pour les minorités visibles même pour les Canadiens de troisième génération et plus.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikal Skuterud, 2010. "The visible minority earnings gap across generations of Canadians," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(3), pages 860-881, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:43:y:2010:i:3:p:860-881
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-5982.2010.01598.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Eric Crettaz, 2011. "Why Are Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities more Affected by Working Poverty? Theoretical Framework and Empirical Evidence Across Welfare Regimes," LIS Working papers 564, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    3. Casey Warman & Christopher Worswick, 2015. "Technological change, occupational tasks and declining immigrant outcomes: Implications for earnings and income inequality in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 48(2), pages 736-772, May.
    4. Richard Chisik, 2015. "Job market signalling, stereotype threat and counter-stereotypical behaviour," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 48(1), pages 155-188, February.
    5. Anthony Edo & Lionel Ragot & Hillel Rapoport & Sulin Sardoschau & Andreas Steinmayr & Arthur Sweetman, 2020. "An introduction to the economics of immigration in OECD countries," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 1365-1403, November.
    6. David A. Green & Christopher Worswick, 2017. "Canadian economics research on immigration through the lens of theories of justice," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(5), pages 1262-1303, December.
    7. Sweetman, A. & van Ours, J.C., 2014. "Immigration : What About the Children and Grandchildren?," Discussion Paper 2014-009, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    8. Mohsen Javdani, 2020. "Visible Minorities and Job Mobility: Evidence from a Workplace Panel Survey," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 18(4), pages 491-524, December.
    9. Warman, Casey & Worswick, Christopher, 2014. "Technological Change and Declining Immigrant Outcomes, Implications for Income Inequality in Canada," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2014-51, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 25 Nov 2014.
    10. Doyle, Matthew & Skuterud, Mikal & Worswick, Christopher, 2023. "The economics of Canadian immigration levels," CLEF Working Paper Series 58, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    11. Javdani, Mohsen, 2019. "Visible Minorities and Job Mobility: Evidence from a Workplace Panel Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 12736, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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