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Whose Job Is It Anyway? Co-Ethnic Hiring in New U.S. Ventures

Author

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  • Sari Pekkala Kerr
  • William R. Kerr

Abstract

We explore co-ethnic hiring among new ventures using U.S. administrative data. Co-ethnic hiring is ubiquitous among immigrant groups, averaging about 22.5% and ranging from 40%. Co-ethnic hiring grows with the size of the local ethnic workforce, greater linguistic distance to English, lower cultural/genetic similarity to U.S. natives, and in harsher policy environments for immigrants. Co-ethnic hiring is remarkably persistent for ventures and for individuals. Co-ethnic hiring is associated with greater venture survival and growth when thick local ethnic employment surrounds the business. Our results are consistent with a blend of hiring due to information advantages within ethnic groups with some taste-based hiring.

Suggested Citation

  • Sari Pekkala Kerr & William R. Kerr, 2021. "Whose Job Is It Anyway? Co-Ethnic Hiring in New U.S. Ventures," NBER Working Papers 28509, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28509
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    Cited by:

    1. Mahesh Somashekhar & James Buszkiewicz & Scott W. Allard & Jennifer Romich, 2022. "How Do Employers Belonging to Marginalized Communities Respond to Minimum Wage Increases? The Case of Immigrant-Owned Businesses in Seattle," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 36(2), pages 108-123, May.
    2. Clochard Gwen-Jirō & Carlos Gomez-Gonzalez & Marco Henriques Pereira, 2025. "Better the Devil You Know: Managers’ Networks, Hiring Decisions and Team Performance," ISER Discussion Paper 1275, Institute of Social and Economic Research, The University of Osaka.
    3. Andreas Teichgraeber & John Van Reenen, 2022. "A policy toolkit to increase research and innovation in the European Union," POID Working Papers 025, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Caroline Fry & Britta Glennon, 2025. "In Good Company: Coethnic Advisors and Career Paths of Immigrant Ph.D. Students," NBER Working Papers 33782, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Willis, Sébastien, 2025. "Workplace segregation and the labour market performance of immigrants," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • 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
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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