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Immigrant employment and earnings growth in Canada and the USA: evidence from longitudinal data

Author

Listed:
  • Neeraj Kaushal

    (Columbia University)

  • Yao Lu

    (Columbia University)

  • Nicole Denier

    (McGill University)

  • Julia Shu-Huah Wang

    (Columbia University
    The University of Hong Kong)

  • Stephen J. Trejo

    (University of Texas)

Abstract

We study the short-term trajectories of employment, hours worked, and real wages of immigrants in Canada and the USA using nationally representative longitudinal datasets covering 1996–2008. Models with person fixed effects show that, on average, immigrant men in Canada do not experience any relative growth in these three outcomes compared to men born in Canada. Immigrant men in the USA, on the other hand, experience positive annual growth in all three domains relative to US-born men. This difference is largely on account of low-educated immigrant men, who experience faster or longer periods of relative growth in employment and wages in the USA than in Canada. We further compare longitudinal and cross-sectional trajectories and find that the latter over-estimate wage growth of earlier arrivals, presumably reflecting selective return migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Neeraj Kaushal & Yao Lu & Nicole Denier & Julia Shu-Huah Wang & Stephen J. Trejo, 2016. "Immigrant employment and earnings growth in Canada and the USA: evidence from longitudinal data," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(4), pages 1249-1277, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:29:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s00148-016-0600-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-016-0600-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Basak Yanar & Agnieszka Kosny & Peter M. Smith, 2018. "Occupational Health and Safety Vulnerability of Recent Immigrants and Refugees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Yu, Yip-Ching & Nimeh, Zina, 2020. "Segmented paths of welfare assimilation," MERIT Working Papers 2020-036, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    3. Ameed Saabneh & Rebbeca Tesfai, 2021. "Does Immigrant Selection Policy Matter? Labor Market Integration of Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel and the United States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(5), pages 955-985, October.
    4. Susumu Imai & Derek Stacey & Casey Warman, 2019. "From engineer to taxi driver? Language proficiency and the occupational skills of immigrants," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 52(3), pages 914-953, August.
    5. 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," Working Papers 19-10, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Riphahn, Regina T. & Sauer, Irakli, 2024. "Earnings Assimilation of Post-reunification East German Migrants in West Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 17148, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Manish Pandey & James Townsend, 2017. "Prior host-country work experience and immigrant labor market outcomes: evidence from Canada," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-22, December.
    8. Benoit Dostie & Mohsen Javdani, 2020. "Immigrants and Workplace Training: Evidence from Canadian Linked Employer–Employee Data," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 275-315, April.
    9. María Lucila Osorio Andrade Osorio & Sergio Madero & Regina A. Greenwood, 2019. "Humanism Under Construction: the Case of Mexican Circular Migration," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 55-69, July.
    10. Henna Busk & Signe Jauhiainen, 2022. "The Careers of Immigrants in Finland: Empirical Evidence for Genders and Year of Immigration," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 2009-2030, December.
    11. Nong ZHU & Cécile BATISSE, 2016. "L’Évolution Des Inégalités De Revenu Entre Canadiens De Naissance Et Immigrés," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 44, pages 121-140.
    12. Yigit Aydede & Atul Dar, 2016. "The cost of immigrants’ occupational mismatch and the effectiveness of postarrival policies in Canada," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-23, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    US immigrants; Canadian immigrants; Economic assimilation; Longitudinal data; Immigration; Employment; Wages; Comparative study;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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