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The Immigrants Odds of Slipping into Poverty during Business Cycles: Double Jeopardy?

Author

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  • Kim, Jongsung
  • Tebaldi, Edinaldo

Abstract

This paper makes an empirical contribution in unraveling the argument that immigration is either the sole or even the most important factor behind the U.S. poverty. While this argument is understandable, the blame is misplaced. Using data from the Current Population Survey, we show that between 1994 and 2008 the national poverty rate of immigrants fell three times faster than that of natives (5.4 compared to 1.8 percentage points). The poverty rate of recent immigrants (those in the United States for less than 10 years) fell even faster at almost six times faster than that of natives (10.7 compared to 1.8 percentage points). The empirical analysis of this paper shows that the odds of experiencing poverty for both natives and immigrants depend on micro factors such as individual characteristics and macro factors such as business cycle in the U.S. economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Jongsung & Tebaldi, Edinaldo, 2009. "The Immigrants Odds of Slipping into Poverty during Business Cycles: Double Jeopardy?," MPRA Paper 15276, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:15276
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/15276/1/MPRA_paper_15276.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Borjas, George J., 1999. "The economic analysis of immigration," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 28, pages 1697-1760, Elsevier.
    2. Ross Gittell & Edinaldo Tebaldi, 2007. "Did a Strong Economy in the 1990s Affect Poverty in U.S. Metro Areas? Exploring Changes in Poverty in Metropolitan Areas Over the Last U.S. Business Cycle, 1992-2003," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 21(4), pages 354-368, November.
    3. Gary A. Hoover & Walter Enders & Donald G. Freeman, 2008. "Non-white Poverty and Macroeconomy: The Impact of Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 398-402, May.
    4. Mark Partridge & Dan Rickman, 2005. "Why some US nonmetropolitan counties moved out of persistent high-poverty status in the 1990s," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(8), pages 473-478.
    5. James Hines & Hilary Hoynes & Alan Krueger, 2001. "Another Look at Whether a Rising Tide Lifts All Boats," Working Papers 833, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    6. Vernon M. Briggs, 2003. "Immigration and Poverty Reduction: Policy Making on a Squirrel Wheel," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 325-331, June.
    7. repec:fth:prinin:454 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. James R. Hines & Hilary Hoynes & Alan B. Krueger, 2001. "Another Look at Whether a Rising Tide Lifts All Boats," Working Papers 833, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Joo, Myungkook, 2013. "Explaining heterogeneity in the child poverty rate among immigrant families: Differences by parental citizenship," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 668-677.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Poverty; Immigrants; and Business Cycle;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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