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A Comparative Analysis of the Nativity Wealth Gap

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  • Thomas K. Bauer
  • Deborah A. Cobb-Clark
  • Vincent Hildebrand
  • Mathias Sinning

Abstract

This paper investigates the source of the gap in the relative wealth position of immigrant households residing in Australia, Germany and the United States. Our results indicate that in Germany and the United States wealth differentials are largely the result of disparity in the educational attainment and demographic composition of the native and immigrant populations, while income differentials are relatively unimportant in understanding the nativity wealth gap. In contrast, the relatively small wealth gap between Australian- and foreign-born households exists because immigrants to Australia do not translate their relative educational and demographic advantage into a wealth advantage. On balance, our results point to substantial cross-national disparity in the economic well-being of immigrant and native families, which is largely consistent with domestic labor markets and the selection policies used to shape the nature of the immigration flow.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by McMaster University in its series Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers with number 184.

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Length: 59 pages
Date of creation: May 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:mcm:sedapp:184

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Keywords: international migration; wealth accumulation;

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References

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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Mathias Sinning, 2007. "Wealth and Asset Holdings of Immigrants in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 0030, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
  2. Markus M. Grabka & Jan Marcus & Eva Sierminska, 2013. "Wealth Distribution within Couples and Financial Decision Making," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 540, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
  3. John Gibson & Trinh Le & Steven Stillman, 2007. "What explains the wealth gap between immigrants and the New Zealand born?," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 131-162.
  4. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Hildebrand, Vincent A., 2008. "The Asset Portfolios of Native-Born and Foreign-Born Households," IZA Discussion Papers 3304, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  5. Knabe, Andreas & Rätzel, Steffen & Thomsen, Stephan L., 2009. "Right-wing extremism and the well-being of immigrants," Discussion Papers 2009/16, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
  6. Mathias Sinning, 2007. "Determinants of Savings and Remittances – Empirical Evidence from Immigrants to Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 0023, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
  7. Thomas Y. Mathä & Alessandro Porpiglia & Eva Sierminska, 2011. "The immigrant/native wealth gap in Germany, Italy and Luxembourg," Working Paper Series 1302, European Central Bank.
  8. HILDEBRAND Vincent & PI ALPERIN Maria Noel & VAN KERM Philippe, 2012. "Measuring and accounting for the deprivation gap of Portuguese immigrants in Luxembourg," CEPS/INSTEAD Working Paper Series 2012-33, CEPS/INSTEAD.
  9. Denise Doiron & Rochelle Guttmann, 2009. "Wealth Distributions of Migrant and Australian-born Households," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 85(268), pages 32-45, 03.
  10. Mestres Domenech, J., 2012. "Essays on temporary migration," Open Access publications from University College London http://discovery.ucl.ac.u, University College London.

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