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Immigrant category of admission and the earnings of adults and children: how far does the apple fall?

Author

Listed:
  • Casey Warman

    (Dalhousie University
    National Bureau of Economic Research)

  • Matthew D. Webb

    (Carleton University)

  • Christopher Worswick

    (Carleton University and CReAM)

Abstract

Immigrants in many Western countries have experienced poor economic outcomes. This has led to a lack of integration of child immigrants (the 1.5 generation) and the second generation in some countries. However, in Canada, child immigrants and the second generation have on average integrated very well economically. We examine the importance of Canada’s admission classes to determine if there is an earnings benefit of the selection under the economic classes to (1) the Adult Arrival immigrants and (2) the Child Arrival immigrants (1.5 generation) once old enough to enter the labour market. We employ unique administrative data on landing records matched with subsequent income tax records that also allows for the linking of the records of Adult Arrival parents and their Child Arrival children. We find, relative to the Family Class, the Adult Arrivals in the Skilled Worker category have earnings that are 29% higher for men and 38% higher for women. These differences persist even after controlling for detailed personal characteristics such as education and language fluency at 21% for men and 27% for women. Child Arrival immigrants landing in the Skilled Worker Class have earnings advantages (as adults) over their Family Class counterparts of 17% for men and 21% for women. These Child Arrival Skilled Worker advantages remain at 9% for men and 14% for women after controlling for child characteristics, the Principal Applicant parent’s characteristics, and the parent’s subsequent income in Canada.

Suggested Citation

  • Casey Warman & Matthew D. Webb & Christopher Worswick, 2019. "Immigrant category of admission and the earnings of adults and children: how far does the apple fall?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 53-112, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:32:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s00148-018-0700-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-018-0700-5
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    Cited by:

    1. David Albouy & Alex Chernoff & Chandler Lutz & Casey Warman, 2019. "Local Labor Markets in Canada and the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(S2), pages 533-594.
    2. 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.
    3. Jiang, Shiyu, 2020. "Task Supply, Wage Earning, and Segmentation among Natives and Two Generations of Immigrants," MPRA Paper 103990, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Angela Daley & Min Hu & Casey Warman, 2019. "Language proficiency and immigrants’ economic integration," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 469-469, December.
    5. Jiang, Shiyu, 2020. "Task Specialization, Wage, and Immigration in Canada," MPRA Paper 103988, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Shiyu Jiang, 2021. "Task Specialization, Wage, and Immigration in Canada," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 22(2), pages 389-420, November.
    7. Adnan, Wifag & Zhang, Jonathan & Zheng, Angela, 2023. "Intergenerational Mobility of Immigrants by Refugee Status: An Analysis of Linked Landing Files and Tax Records," IZA Discussion Papers 16471, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Canada; Immigration; Earnings; 1.5 generation; Second generation; Child immigrants; Integration; Points system; Skilled workers; Economic class;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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