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An Analysis of the Earnings of Canadian Immigrants

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  • David E. Bloom
  • Morley Gunderson

Abstract

This paper reports estimates of simple wage equations fit to cross-sectional and pseudo-longitudinal data for Canadian immigrants in the 1971 and 1981 Canadian censuses. The estimates are used to assess (1) the usefulness of cross-sectional analyses for measuring the pace of immigrant earnings growth, (2) the labor market implications of admissions policies that place different weights on the work skills possessed by prospective entrants, and (3) the relative impact of selective outmigration and job-matching on the shape of immigrant earnings distributions as duration of stay increases. The estimates provide evidence of a small to moderate assimilation effect that suggests that immigrants make up for relatively low entry wages, although the wage catch-up is not complete until 13 to 22 years after entry into Canada. These results are revealed clearly in both the pseudo-longitudinal and the cross-sectional analyses. The estimates also provide evidence that the unobserved quality of immigrants' labor market skills declined following changes in Canada's immigration policies in 1974 that led to a sharp increase in the proportion of immigrants admitted on the basis of family ties. Finally, since there is no evidence that the variance of immigrant earnings increases with their duration of stay in Canada, and since there are no differential immigrant-native changes in higher-order moments of the earnings distribution as duration of stay increases, the results are inconclusive with respect to the importance of selective outmigration and job matching in the evolution of immigrant earnings distributions over time.

Suggested Citation

  • David E. Bloom & Morley Gunderson, 1989. "An Analysis of the Earnings of Canadian Immigrants," NBER Working Papers 3035, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:3035
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    Cited by:

    1. Neagu, Ileana Cristina, 2009. "Career placement of skilled migrants in the U.S. labor market : a dynamic approach," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4891, The World Bank.
    2. Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann, 2011. "Migration, Ethnicity and Economic Integration," Chapters, in: Miroslav N. Jovanović (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Integration, Volume III, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Picot, Garnett & Myles, John, 2005. "Income Inequality and Low Income in Canada: an International Perspective," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2005240e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    4. Carroll, Christopher D & Rhee, Byung-Kun & Rhee, Changyong, 1999. "Does Cultural Origin Affect Saving Behavior? Evidence from Immigrants," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(1), pages 33-50, October.
    5. Duleep, Harriet & Regets, Mark, 2002. "The Elusive Concept of Immigrant Quality: Evidence from 1970-1990," IZA Discussion Papers 631, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Mattoo, Aaditya & Neagu, Ileana Cristina & Özden, Çağlar, 2012. "Performance of skilled migrants in the U.S.: A dynamic approach," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 829-843.
    7. Poirine, Bernard, 1997. "A theory of remittances as an implicit family loan arrangement," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 589-611, January.
    8. Nonna Kushnirovich, 2019. "Labor Market Integration of Skilled Immigrants," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1055-1070, November.
    9. Oded Stark, 1996. "Frontier Issues in International Migration," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 19(1-2), pages 147-177, April.
    10. Peter S. Li, 2001. "The Market Worth of Immigrants' Educational Credentials," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 27(1), pages 23-38, March.
    11. Christopher Worswick, 1996. "Immigrant Families in the Canadian Labour Market," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 22(4), pages 378-396, December.
    12. Hou, Feng & Picot, Garnett & Coulombe, Simon, 2007. "Le faible revenu chronique et la dynamique du faible revenu chez les nouveaux immigrants," Direction des études analytiques : documents de recherche 2007294f, Statistics Canada, Direction des études analytiques.
    13. Picot, Garnett & Sweetman, Arthur, 2005. "The Deteriorating Economic Welfare of Immigrants and Possible Causes: Update 2005," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2005262e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    14. Hou, Feng & Picot, Garnett, 2009. "The Effect of Immigrant Selection and the IT Bust on the Entry Earnings of Immigrants," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2009-37, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 26 Jun 2009.
    15. Moshe Semyonov & Rebeca Raijman & Dina Maskileyson, 2015. "Ethnicity and Labor Market Incorporation of Post-1990 Immigrants in Israel," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 34(3), pages 331-359, June.
    16. Michele Campolieti & Morley Gunderson & Olga Timofeeva & Evguenia Tsiroulnitchenko, 2013. "Immigrant Assimilation, Canada 1971–2006: Has the Tide Turned?," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 455-475, December.
    17. Hou, Feng & Picot, Garnett, 2003. "The Rise in Low-income Rates Among Immigrants in Canada," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2003198e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    18. David E. Bloom & Gilles Grenier & Morley Gunderson, 1995. "The Changing Labour Market Position of Canadian Immigrants," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 28(4b), pages 987-1005, November.
    19. Peter S. Li, 2003. "Initial Earnings and Catch-Up Capacity of Immigrants," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 29(3), pages 319-337, September.
    20. Licht, Georg & Steiner, Viktor, 1993. "Assimilation, labour market experience, and earnings profiles of temporary and permanent immigrant workers in germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 93-06, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    21. Stark, Oded, 1994. "Market Environment, Trade Technology, and Migrants' Performance," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 45-52.
    22. Fuess, Scott Jr. & van den Berg, Hendrik, 1995. "The impact of transactional activities on productivity growth in Canada, and a comparison with the United States," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 1-15.
    23. Hou, Feng & Picot, Garnett & Coulombe, Simon, 2007. "Chronic Low Income and Low-income Dynamics Among Recent Immigrants," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2007294e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    24. Zhiling Wang & Thomas de Graaff & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Barriers of Culture, Networks, and Language in International Migration: A Review," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 5, pages 73-89.
    25. Bauer, Thomas K. & Lofstrom, Magnus & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2000. "Immigration Policy, Assimilation of Immigrants and Natives' Sentiments towards Immigrants: Evidence from 12 OECD-Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 187, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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