IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joimai/v19y2018i1d10.1007_s12134-017-0524-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Socioeconomic Achievement Among Arab Immigrants in the USA: The Influence of Region of Origin and Gender

Author

Listed:
  • Abdi M. Kusow

    (Iowa State University)

  • Kristine J. Ajrouch

    (Eastern Michigan University)

  • Mamadi Corra

    (East Carolina University)

Abstract

Based on the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) data derived from 2001–2013 samples of the American Community Surveys, we examine the impact of region of origin and gender on socioeconomic achievement variation among Arab immigrants in the USA. Region of origin includes North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Sudan), Levant (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq), and the Arabian Peninsula (Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen). This examination is particularly important given the prevailing scholarly consensus that Arab immigrants are collectively portrayed as socioeconomically successful. Our analyses suggest two key findings. First, we find that region of origin is not a consistent predictor of earnings. While Arab immigrants from North Africa earned significantly less than those from the Levant, this was only true for males. No significant effect is found for region of origin in all other comparisons (both overall and when the analysis is restricted to males or females). Second, and by contrast, gender, net of other variables is a powerful predictor of earnings (both within regions and across regions).

Suggested Citation

  • Abdi M. Kusow & Kristine J. Ajrouch & Mamadi Corra, 2018. "Socioeconomic Achievement Among Arab Immigrants in the USA: The Influence of Region of Origin and Gender," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 111-127, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:19:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s12134-017-0524-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-017-0524-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12134-017-0524-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12134-017-0524-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abdi M. Kusow & Sitawa R. Kimuna & Mamadi Corra, 2016. "Socioeconomic Diversity Among African Immigrants in the United States: An Intra-African Immigrant Comparison," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 115-130, February.
    2. Jen’nan Read, 2013. "Measuring Ethnicity with U.S. Census Data: Implications for Mexicans and Arabs," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 32(4), pages 611-631, August.
    3. Kristin F. Butcher, 1990. "Black Immigrants to the United States: A Comparison with Native Blacks and Other Immigrants," Working Papers 648, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    4. Bernt Bratsberg & James F. Ragan Jr., 2002. "The Impact of Host-Country Schooling on Earnings: A Study of Male Immigrants in the United States," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(1), pages 63-105.
    5. Kristin F. Butcher, 1994. "Black Immigrants in the United States: A Comparison with Native Blacks and other Immigrants," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 47(2), pages 265-284, January.
    6. Zsembik, Barbara A. & Fennell, Dana, 2005. "Ethnic variation in health and the determinants of health among Latinos," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 53-63, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthew A. Painter & Zhenchao Qian, 2016. "Wealth Inequality Among Immigrants: Consistent Racial/Ethnic Inequality in the United States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(2), pages 147-175, April.
    2. Silvia Helena Barcellos, 2010. "Legalization and the Economic Status of Immigrants," Working Papers 754, RAND Corporation.
    3. Madeline Zavodny, 2003. "Race, wages, and assimilation among Cuban immigrants," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2003-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    4. Patrick L. Mason, 2016. "Immigrant assimilation and male labor market inequality," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-32, December.
    5. Gil S. Epstein & Erez Siniver, 2012. "Can an ethnic group climb up from the bottom of the ladder?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(3), pages 2414-2441.
    6. Kevin Thomas, 2012. "Migration Processes, Familial Characteristics, and Schooling Dropout Among Black Youths," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(2), pages 477-498, May.
    7. Kristin F. Butcher & Anne Morrison Piehl, 1998. "Recent Immigrants: Unexpected Implications for Crime and Incarceration," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 51(4), pages 654-679, July.
    8. Kristin F. Butcher & Anne Morrison Piehl, 2005. "Why are immigrants' incarceration rates so low? evidence on selective immigration, deterrence, and deportation," Working Paper Series WP-05-19, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    9. Hoyt Bleakley & Aimee Chin, 2010. "Age at Arrival, English Proficiency, and Social Assimilation among US Immigrants," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 165-192, January.
    10. Silvia Helena Barcellos, 2010. "Legalization and the Economic Status of Immigrants," Working Papers WR-754, RAND Corporation.
    11. Robert J. LaLonde & Robert H. Topel, 1992. "The Assimilation of Immigrants in the U. S. Labor Market," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration and the Work Force: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, pages 67-92, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Feng Hou & Yuqian Lu, 2017. "International students, immigration and earnings growth: the effect of a pre-immigration host-country university education," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-24, December.
    13. Derek Hum & Wayne Simpson, 2002. "Analysis of the Performance of Immigrant Wages Using Panel Data," 10th International Conference on Panel Data, Berlin, July 5-6, 2002 C2-1, International Conferences on Panel Data.
    14. Mason, Patrick, 2009. "Culture matters: America’s African Diaspora and labor market outcomes," MPRA Paper 17497, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Alexandra Doyle & Amos C Peters & Asha Sundaram, 2014. "Skills mismatch and informal sector participation among educated immigrants: Evidence from South Africa," SALDRU Working Papers 137, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    16. Tod Hamilton, 2014. "Selection, Language Heritage, and the Earnings Trajectories of Black Immigrants in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 975-1002, June.
    17. Melissa A. Clark & David A. Jaeger, 2002. "Natives, the Foreign-Born and High School Equivalents: New Evidence on the Returns to the GED," Working Papers 841, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    18. Ana Ferrer & W. Craig Riddell, 2008. "Education, credentials, and immigrant earnings," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(1), pages 186-216, February.
    19. Sharpe, Jamie & Bollinger, Christopher R., 2020. "Who competes with whom? Using occupation characteristics to estimate the impact of immigration on native wages," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    20. Leilanie Basilio & Thomas K. Bauer & Anica Kramer, 2017. "Transferability of Human Capital and Immigrant Assimilation: An Analysis for Germany," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 31(3), pages 245-264, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:19:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s12134-017-0524-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.