(Ebook) Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Volume 2: The New Immigration by Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco (editor), Carola Suárez-Orozco (editor), Desirée Qin-Hilliard (editor) ISBN 9780815337065, 081533706X - The full ebook version is ready for instant download
(Ebook) Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Volume 2: The New Immigration by Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco (editor), Carola Suárez-Orozco (editor), Desirée Qin-Hilliard (editor) ISBN 9780815337065, 081533706X - The full ebook version is ready for instant download
https://ebooknice.com/product/the-new-immigration-an-
interdisciplinary-reader-43739680
https://ebooknice.com/product/the-new-immigrant-and-the-american-
family-37710280
https://ebooknice.com/product/biota-grow-2c-gather-2c-cook-6661374
(Ebook) Matematik 5000+ Kurs 2c Lärobok by Lena Alfredsson, Hans
Heikne, Sanna Bodemyr ISBN 9789127456600, 9127456609
https://ebooknice.com/product/matematik-5000-kurs-2c-larobok-23848312
https://ebooknice.com/product/globalization-culture-and-education-in-
the-new-millennium-1806194
https://ebooknice.com/product/vagabond-vol-29-29-37511002
https://ebooknice.com/product/sat-ii-success-
math-1c-and-2c-2002-peterson-s-sat-ii-success-1722018
https://ebooknice.com/product/organometallic-chemistry-
volume-29-2440106
Interdisciplinary
Perspectives on the New
Immigration
Volume 2
The New Immigrant in the
American Economy
9780815337065
New Immigration - Suarez Orozco V2
Size: 229 x 152 Spine size: 24 mm Color pages: Binding: Hardback
Series Content
Volume 1
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES
Volume 2
THE NEW IMMIGRANT IN THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
Volume 3
THE NEW IMMIGRANT IN AMERICAN SOCIETY
Volume 4
THE NEW IMMIGRANT AND THE AMERICAN FAMILY
Volume 5
THE NEW IMMIGRANT AND AMERICAN SCHOOLS
Volume 6
THE NEW IMMIGRANT AND LANGUAGE
Interdisciplinary
Perspectives on the New
Immigration
Volume 2
The New Immigrant in the
American Economy
Marcelo M. Smirez-Orozco
Carola Sm1rez-Orozco
Desiree Qin-Hilliard
all Harvard University
Published in 2001 by
Routledge
270 Madison Avenue,
New York, NY 10016
All rights reserved. No pan of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including any
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
10 9 8 7 6 54 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
vu Series Introduction
IX Volume Introduction
The Economics of Immigrants
George J Borjas
53 Public Expenditures on Immigrants to the United States, Past and
Present
Julian L. Simon
65 Neo-Isolationism, Balanced-Budget Conservatism, and the
Fiscal Impacts of Immigrants
Gregory A. Huber and Thomas J Espenshade,
89 The Impact oflmmigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment
and Growth
Rachel M. Friedberg and Jennifer Hunt
111 The Effects of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-Born
Men
Barry R. Chiswick
137 The Effects oflmmigration on the Labor Market Outcomes of
Less-Skilled Natives
Joseph G. Altonji and David Card
171 Undocumented Mexican Immigrants and the Earnings of Other
Workers in the United States
Frank D. Bean, B. Lindsay Lowell, and Lowell J Taylor
186 Wage Mobility of Undocumented Workers in the United States
Marta Tienda and Audrey Singer
213 Immigrant's Progress: Ethnic and Gender Differences Among
U.S. Immigrants in the 1980s
Roger Waldinger and Gregory Gilbertson
227 Selective Emigration, Cohort Quality, and Models of Immigrant
Assimilation
David P. Lindstron and DouglasS. Massey
263 The Road to Parity: Determinants of the Socioeconomic
Achievements of Asian Americans
Victor Nee and Jimy Sanders
282 Socioeconomic Gains of Asian Americans, Blacks, and
Hispanics: 1960-1976
Charles Hirschman and Morrison G. Wong
v
~ Con~nu
Vl
Series Introduction
At the turn of the millennium the United States has the largest number of immigrants
in its history. As a consequence, immigration has emerged once again as a subject of
scholarly inquiry and in policy debates. This series brings together the dominant
conceptual and theoretical work on the "new immigration." Immigration today is a
global and transnational phenomenon that affects every region of the world with
unprecedented force. Although this series is devoted to scholarly work on the new
immigration specifically in the United States, many of the broader conceptual issues
covered here also apply to other postindustrial countries, such as France, Germany,
and Japan.
In the United States immigration is both history and destiny. The current wave of
immigration has many similarities to the large-scale transoceanic immigration at the
turn of the twentieth century, and yet several features distinguish it as unique to the
present era.
Up to 1965 immigration to the United States was overwhelmingly a European
phenomenon, with countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and Ireland
leading the way. Today's immigrants are a highly diverse population, originating in
such varied settings as Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. Majorities of new
immigrants who are phenotypically not white are subject to a process of racialization
that transforms them in this new context from immigrant outsiders to "people of
color." In the aftermath of the great struggles of the civil rights movement, race,
color, and ethnicity continue to be essential to the social processes that shape the
opportunities and life experiences of these new arrivals.
In earlier eras immigration was structured in time-delineated discrete and
bounded waves. There was a clear beginning and end date to the various European
migrations to the United States. The current pattern of immigration to the United
States that had begun to intensify in 1965 and then gained extraordinary momentum
in the 1980s and 1990s can best be described as an ongoing flow that ever replenishes
the immigrant stock of the nation. This flow seems to be the result of several distinct
factors. First, the postindustrial economy has developed a voracious need for
immigrant workers. Also, with the passage of the Hart-Cellar Immigration Act in
1965, family reunification became a powerful force that generated and strengthened
immigrant chains, as those left behind were given the opportunity to join relatives and
loved ones living in the United States. A host of social forces- the ease of mass
transportation, instant access to information about job opportunities, and the dream
for a better standard of living- have made migration an increasingly attractive option
for many. Finally, armed conflicts, ethnic and religious tensions, and political
repression are implicated significantly in population displacements; witness the
Vll
Vll1 Series Introduction
million-plus Southeast Asians and million-plus Central Americans now living in the
United States.
Globalization is yet another basic characteristic that separates the new
immigration from the old. Earlier waves of immigration took place in the context of
nation-building efforts in which immigrant workers, consumers, and would-be
citizens played a significant role. Today, immigration is at the heart of globalization.
The three main pillars of globalization are post-national financial markets and the
emergence of knowledge-intensive economies; new information and communication
technologies that instantaneously connect people across vast spaces; and large-scale
immigration. These three phenomena, though discrete, are intertwined. The
globalization of capital and the increasingly internationalized production of goods and
services are predicated on new communication technologies as well as on capital's
ability to mobilize human labor with stunning speed and force. For example, in the
1980s and 1990s Mexico's northern border experienced extraordinary population
growth as international interests invested massively in maquiladora assembly plants to
take advantage of cheap labor and de-regularized production practices.
This series examines the new immigration from an interdisciplinary and
comparative perspective. We bring together the leading minds in the study of
immigration from such disparate disciplines as anthropology, economics,
demography, psychology, and sociology. We include scholarly work on the impact of
the new immigration on the U.S. economy. We also examine at length the ways in
which the new immigrants are transforming U.S. society. We present a broad range of
scholarship on how immigration affects the family system, as well as the educational
opportunities and challenges facing the children of today's immigrants. Finally, we
examine the ever-controversial topic of bilingualism and linguistic practices among
new immigrants.
Taken together, the articles in this series represent the most influential and, in
many cases, original scholarship on the new immigration. In selecting articles for the
series, we privileged those that have influenced a domain by generating debate and
further scholarship. We also strove to include a range of scholarship devoted to basic
research on the most significant immigrant groups. Rather than gloss over
controversies, disagreements, and contradictory findings, we have included many
perspectives. The perceptive reader will be able to tease out the various heated
controversies as well as areas of consensus and analytic convergence.
Volume Introduction
Many scholars have argued that the economy drives immigration. Immigrants
typically move in an effort to better their economic fortunes. Likewise, they usually
settle in areas where their labor is of value. During the 1990s there was a substantial
debate over the economics of immigration. Broadly speaking, there have been three
major areas of scholarly and policy dispute. First, scholars and politicians, as well as
citizens, have been concerned about the fiscal implications of large-scale immigration.
Some scholars question whether or not immigrants "cost" more- in terms of the tax
and welfare services they consume- than they pay into the system. Other scholars
examine the issue of competition between immigrants and native workers. Does
large-scale immigration depress the wages of native workers? Do immigrants displace
native workers? Economically speaking, are African-Americans and other native
minorities hurt by large-scale immigration? The final broad area of scholarly work and
policy concerns the question of the economic advancement of immigrants over time.
How do immigrants behave in the opportunity structure? Do they advance in ways
similar to nonimmigrant workers? What are the returns on their education, and what
are their patterns of homeownership? All these issues have attracted considerable
attention.
The articles in this volume examine the dominant themes in the study of the
new immigration and the U.S. economy. In an overview the Harvard University
economist George Borjas explores a variety of themes. He argues that the skills of
immigrants have declined over time vis-a-vis the skills of native workers. He
concludes that over time and across generations, it is unlikely low-skilled immigrants
will attain parity of earnings with native workers. He also claims that the new
immigration partially has been responsible for the marginal decline in the earnings of
unskilled native workers. Finally, he suggests that the most recent wave of
immigration has had a negative impact on the U.S. economy.
Borjas's claims found a deep echo in political circles and public opinion. The
economic recession in the early 1990s generated intense concerns about these alleged
negative consequences of large-scale immigration. Gregory Huber and Thomas
Espenshade of Princeton University examine legislative initiatives that are based on
these assumptions and aimed at curtailing immigrant access to various federally
funded programs.
Although Borjas's work has been influential in policy circles, other scholars of
immigration have contested his findings and conclusions. The immigration economist
Julian Simon examines statistical data and directly relates his findings to the fiscal
implications of large-scale immigration. Contrary to Borjas, Simon concludes that
when all programs are considered, fiscal expenditures on native-born subjects vastly
outweigh those on immigrants. His findings suggest that while immigrant-generated
taxes have largely increased over time, immigrant-oriented expenditures have
decreased greatly.
IX
X Volume Introduction
The next three articles examine various aspects of immigrants' impact on the
wages of native-born workers. Friedberg and Hunt point out that contrary to earlier
claims, the effect of immigration on the labor-market fortunes of native-born workers
is quite small. Likewise, the economists Altonji and Card find little evidence that
large-scale immigration has a systematic negative impact on the employment and
unemployment rates of less skilled native-born workers.
What is the impact of undocumented immigrants on the earnings of other
workers? The research by Frank Bean, Lindsay Lowell, and Lowell Taylor suggests
that undocumented Mexican workers have a slight but positive effect on the earnings
of native workers. They claim that rather than competing with native-born workers,
undocumented Mexican workers complement them. The preponderance of evidence
in all three articles suggests that large-scale immigration has not substantially affected
the fortunes of native-born workers. Immigrant and native-born workers are pursuing
different avenues in the opportunity structure. At most, large-scale immigration seems
to have affected the economic well-being of unskilled native workers; those who are
high-school dropouts seem to have experienced a relative decline in wages directly
linked to large-scale immigration.
The next articles examine the issue of immigrant advancement in the opportunity
structure. In a classic contribution to the study of the economics of immigration,
Barry Chiswick compares the earnings of foreign-born and native-born workers and
examines the different effects that schooling and advanced training have on these
earnings. Chiswick's work suggests that although immigrants initially earn less than
native-born workers, their earnings rise rapidly as they spend more time in the U.S.
labor market. Chiswick argues further that after ten to fifteen years, immigrant
workers tend to earn the same as and eventually more than native-born workers.
The sociologists Roger Waldinger and Greta Gilbertson explore how the
economic fortunes of highly skilled immigrants differ from those of low-skilled
immigrants when compared with native-born workers. How do immigrants and
nonimmigrants convert education and skills into occupational prestige and earnings?
The authors find that higher-skilled immigrants are able to translate educational
attainment into occupational prestige and achieve returns on education in ways that
converge with those of native-born whites. By contrast, low-skilled immigrants face
strict limits in the returns on education and skills, because they tend to concentrate on
low-level jobs that hold little or no promise of mobility.
Linstrom and Massey identify several methodological problems in the study of
immigration that are directly related to the debate over immigrants' socioeconomic
assimilation. They find systematic bias on the estimated effect of human capital. They
conclude that though there is some evidence for shifts in "cohort quality" over time,
they cannot confirm the systematic decline in cohort quality that has been theorized
by other scholars. Nee and Sanders examine the determinants of economic progress
for Asian-American workers. Rather than treat the economic dynamic of Asian-
Americans monolithically, the authors examine important differences in
socioeconomic achievements of the major Asian-origin populations, including
Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino. They argue that the lower aggregate earnings of
Chinese-Americans should be seen in the context of the costs associated with
immigration. In keeping with Chiswick's findings, they note that on average Chinese
Volume Introduction xi
immigrants earn 30 percent less than Chinese-Americans. They also suggest that in
California, Japanese-Americans earn substantially more than other groups. Finally,
they compare the economic adaptations of Asian-Americans with those of other
groups.
Hirschman and Wong compare socioeconomic adaptations among Asian-
Americans, African-Americans, and Hispanics. They examine gaps in socioeconomic
achievement in terms of age, place of birth (foreign versus U.S. born), residence,
education, and other social factors. They find that Asian-Americans approach
socioeconomic parity with whites only because of a pattern of overachievement in
educational attainment.
Myers and Lee examine another important index of economic well-being and
progress- patterns of homeownership among immigrants in comparison with native-
born subjects. This work represents an important methodological advancement in the
study of immigration and the economy. Building on earlier work by Chiswick and
Borjas, Myers and Lee deploy a double-cohort method to examine longitudinal trends
in immigrant advancement in homeownership. This approach yields a more
sophisticated insight than had been possible using cross-sectional techniques. The
authors find that rates of homeownership have dropped for both native-born citizens
and immigrants. They also find that Asian immigrants tend to achieve high levels of
homeownership soon after arrival. Although Hispanic immigrants initially have very
low levels of homeownership, they advance substantially the longer they reside in the
United States.
Tienda and Singer examine the wage mobility of undocumented workers. They
find that as undocumented immigrants gain more experience in U.S. jobs, they make
modest positive returns in wages. They also find that undocumented immigrants from
Mexico have lower wage returns than undocumented immigrants from non-Spanish-
speaking countries.
In a classic contribution to our understanding of the economic behavior of
immigrants, the Princeton University sociologist Alejandro Portes examines the social
origins of the Cuban enclave in Miami. Portes develops a typology for examining the
patterns of entrepreneurship and the economic behavior of Cuban exiles in the
United States. He outlines the origins and characteristics of the Cuban enclave in
Miami and explores the paths to entrepreneurship among this upwardly mobile
immigrant group. He goes beyond individual characteristics to examine the collective
and mutually reinforcing processes deployed by Miami's Cuban expatriate
community. He examines how individual qualities and skills were channeled into
group enterprises that generated great advantages to members of this ethnic enclave.
In the last article Smith and Edmonston present an overview of the major
findings in the field of immigration and the economy. They conclude that immigrants
produce net economic gains for native-born workers. They also emphasize that
immigration is unlikely to have a large effect on the relative earnings of nonimmigrant
workers. They suggest that there is no available evidence to indicate that African-
Americans suffer disproportionately because of large-scale immigration. ,
Concerns about immigration routinely and inevitably focus on its economic
consequences. Indeed, few other aspects of immigration have generated as much
scholarly work, policy debate, or public anxiety. The preponderance of evidence
xu Volume Introduction
suggests that the U.S. economy is so large, dynamic, and globalized that immigration
is unlikely either to make it or to break it. Indeed, at the end of the twentieth century,
the U.S. economy began to show a predilection for immigrant workers. Nearly all
sectors of the economy- from the knowledge-intensive enterprises in Silicon Valley
to the service sector- thrived on immigrant workers. Although immigration generates
great wealth, clearly there are also costs associated with such large social
transformations. Immigrants and especially their children need services such as
schooling and health care, and these services figure importantly in the fiscal
implications of large-scale immigration. Yet most responsible economists concur that
the fiscal costs associated with large-scale immigration are outweighed by the gains.
Journal of Economic Literature
Vol. XXXII (December 1994), pp. 1667-1717
T
nally, which immigration policy most
HERE HAS BEEN a resurgence of im- benefits the host country?
migration in the United States and in The policy significance of these ques-
many other countries. The United Na- tions is evident. For example, immi-
tions estimates that over 60 million peo- grants who have high levels of productiv-
ple, or 1.2 percent of the world's ity and who adapt rapidly to conditions
population, now reside in a country in the host country's labor market can
where they were not born (United Na- make a significant contribution to eco-
tions 1989, p. 61). Although most immi- nomic growth. Natives need not be con-
grants choose a "traditional" destination cerned about the possibility that these
(over half typically go to the United immigrants will increase expenditures on
States, Canada, or Australia), many other social assistance programs. Conversely, if
countries are receiving relatively large immigrants lack the skills that employers
immigrant flows. Nearly 11 percent of demand and find it difficult to adapt, im-
the population in France, 1i percent in migration may significantly increase the
Switzerland, and 9 percent in the United costs associated with income mainte-
Kingdom is foreign-born. Even Japan, nance programs as well as exacerbate the
which is thought of as being very homo- ethnic wage differentials already in exist-
geneous and geographically immune to ence in the host country.
immigrants, now reports major problems Similarly, the debate over immigration
with illegal immigration. policy has long been fueled by the wide-
As a result of these changes in the "im- spread perception that "'immigrant
migration market," the impact of immi- hordes" have an adverse effect on the
gration on the host econom:· is now be- employment opportunities of natives.
ing debated heatedly in many countries. Which native workers are most adversely
The political discussion is centered affected by immigration, and how large
around three substantive questions. is the decline in the native wage?
First, how do immigrants perform in the Finally, there is great diversity in ifll-
host country's economy? Second, what migration policies across countries. Some
impact do immigrants have on the em- countries, such as the United States,
1
1668 Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XXXII (December 1994)
TABLE 1
LEGAL IMMIGRAST FLOW TO THE UNITED STATES 1881-1990
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice. Immigration and Naturalization Service (1993, p. 25); U.S. Department of
Commerce. Bureau of the Census (1975, pp. 8, 14; 1993b, p. 50).
award entry visas mainly to applicants quires an understanding ·of the factors
who have relatives already residing in that motivate persons in the source
the country. Other countries, such as countries to emigrate and of the eco-
Australia and Canada, award visas to per- nomic consequences of pursuing particu-
sons who have a desirable set of socio- lar immigration policies. As a result, the
economic characteristics, and still other most important lesson is that the eco-
countries, such as Germany, encouraged nomic impact of immigration will vary by
the migration of "temporary" guest work- time and by place, and can be either
ers in the 1960s, only to find that the beneficial or harmful. Although the dis-
temporary migrants became a permanent cussion focuses on the experience of the
part of the German population. The United States (simply because most stud-
choice of the "right" immigration policy ies in the literature use data drawn from
can obviously have a significant impact the U.S. decennial Censuses), we will
on economic activity both in the short see that much can be learned by compar-
run and in the long run. ing the U.S. experience to that of other
The past decade witnessed an explo- host countries.
sion in research on many aspects of the
economics of immigration. This litera- 2. Immigration to the United States: A
ture is motivated mainly by the various Brief Histoflj
policy concerns and provides valuable in-
sights into all these issues. This paper As Table 1 shows, the size of the immi-
does not attempt to provide an encyclo- grant flow has fluctuated dramatically
pedic summary of the empirical results during the past century. The First Great
in the literatpre; instead, it surveys the Migration occurred between 1881 and
themes and lesso'ns suggested by the on- 1924, when 25.8 million persons entered
going research. Perhaps the most impor- the country. Reacting to the increase in
tant theme is that an assessment of the immigration and to the widespread pt!r-
economic impact of immigration re- ception that the "new" immigrants dif-
2
Borjas: The Economics of Immigration 1669
fered from the old, Congress closed the and Nationality Act (and subsequent re-
floodgates in the 1920s by enacting the visions) repealed the national origin re-
national-origins quota system. This sys- strictions, increased the number of avail-
tem restricted the annual flow from able visas, and made family ties to U.S.
Eastern Hemisphere countries to residents the key factor that determines
150,000 ill1migrants, and allocated the vi- whether an applicant is admitted into the
sas according to the ethnic composition country. As a consequence of both the
of the U.S. population in 1920. As a 1965 Amendments and of major changes
result, 60 percent of all available visas in economic and political conditions in
were awarded to applicants from two the source countries relative to the
countries, Germany and the United United States, the national origin mix of
Kingdom. · the immigrant flow changed substantially
During the 1930s, only .5 million im- in the past few decades. As Table 2
migrants entered the United States. shows, over two-thirds of the legal immi-
Since then, the number of legal immi- grants admitted during the 1950s origi-
grants has increased at the rate of about nated in Europe .Jr C.iuaJa, 20 ptacent
one million per decade, and is now near- originated in Western Hemisphere coun-
ing the historic levels reached in the tries other than Canada, and only 6 per-
early 1900s. By 1993, nearly 800,000 per- cent originated in Asia. By the 1980s,
sons were being admitted annually. only 13 percent of the immigrants origi-
There has also been a steadv increase in nated in Europe or Canada, 47 percent
the number of illegal altens. Demo- in Western Hemisphere countries other
graphic studies conclude that around two than Canada, and an additional 37 per-
to three million persons were illegally cent originated in Asia.
present in the United States in the late In recent years, the debate over immi-
1980s, and that the net flow of illegal gration poli~y led to the enactment of
aliens is on the order of 200,000 to two major pieces of legislation. Fueled
300,000 persons per year (U.S. General by charges that illegal aliens were over-
Accounting_Office 1993). running the country, Congress enacted
Table 1 also illustrates that the size of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Con-
the immigrant flow has increased not trol Act (IRCA). This legislation gave
only in absolute terms. hut also as a per- amnest;· to three million illegal aliens
centage of population growth. In fact, and introduced a system of employer
the contribution of the Second Great Mi- sanctions designed to stem the flow of
gration to population growth is fast ap- additional illegal workers. 1 The 1990 Im-
proaching the level reached during the migration Act permits the entry of an ad-
First Great Migration, when immigration ditional 1.50,000 legal immigrants annu-
accounted for 40 to 50 percent of the ally. The legislated increase in the size of
change in population. As a result of these the immigrant flow makes it likelv that
trends, the fraction of the population the U nit~d States will admit a ;ecord
that is foreign-born rose from 4.7 to 7.9 number of immigrants during the 1990s.
percent between 1970 and 1990.
The huge increase in immigration in
I In 1856, the Border Patrol apprehended l.S
recent de~ades can be attribut~ble partly million ille"al aliens. Although the number of an-
to changes in U.S. immigration policy. nual appre~ensions declined to about one million
Prior to 1965, immigration was guided by following the enactment of !RCA. thev are now
back up ~to about 1.3 million, or 2.5 apprehensiorls
the national-origins quota system. The per minute ( C.S. Department of Justice. Immigra-
1965 Amendments to the Immigration tion and Naturalization Service 1993, p. 156).
3
TABLE 2
NATIONAL ORJGIN COMPOSmON OF LEGAL IMMIGRAJio'T FLOW TO UNITED STATES,1931-1990
Source: U.S. Department of Justice. Immigration and Naturalization Service (1993, pp. 27-28).
4
Borjas: The Economics of Immigration 1671
5
16i2 Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XXXII (December 1994)
8.5
R
&~ ~ ~ ~ ~ e ~ M 00 M c
Age ~20------~-------00-------------Age
Figure 1. The Cross-Section Age-Earnings Profiles
of Immigrants and Natives in the Figure 2. Cohort Effects and the Cross-Section
United States, 1970 Age-Earnings Profile oflmmigrants
Source: Chiswick (1978, Table 2, Column 3). All the
variables in the regression are evaluated at the regression in ( 1) is that it draws infer-
means of the immigrant sample, and immigrants ences about how the earnings of immi-
are assumed to enter the United States at age 20. grant workers evolve over time from a
single snapshot of the immigrant popula-
man capital investment hypothesis, how- tion. It might be the case, however, that
ever, does not by itself generate an over- newly arrived immigrants are inherently
taking point. After all, why would immi- different from those who migrated
grants accumulate more human capital twenty years ago. Hence we cannot use
than natives? The overtaking point was the current labor market experiences of
instead inte1preted in terms of a selec- those who arrived twenty years ago to
tion argument: immigrants are "more forecast the future earnings of newly ar-
able and more highly motivated" than rived immigrants.
natives (Chiswick 1978, p. 900), and im- Figure 2 illustrates the implications of
migrants "choose to work longer and this alternative hypothesis. For concrete-
harder than nonmigrants" (Carliner ness, consider a· situation where there
1980, p. 89). This assumption was typi- are three separate immigrant waves, one
cally justified by arguing that only the wave arrived in 1950, the second in
most driven and most able persons have 1970, and the last in 1990. Assume that
the ambition and wherewithal to pack immigrants enter the United States at
up, move., and start life anew in a foreign age 20. The earliest cohort is assumed to
country. have the highest productivity level of any
The optimistic appraisal of immigrant group in the population, including U.S.-
adjustment implied by the results sum- born workers. If we could observe their
marized in Figure 1 was challenged by earnings in every year after they arrive in
Borjas (1985), who argued that the posi- the United States, their age-earnings
tive cross-section correlation between profile would be given by the line PP in
the relative 'wage of immigrants and the figure. Let's also assume that the last
years-since-migration need not indicate immigrant wave (i.e., the 1990 arrivals) is
that the wage of immigrants converges to the least productive of any group in the
that of natives. The basic problem with population. Their age-earnings profile 1is
the "assimilationist" interpretation of the given by the line RR in the figure. Fi-
6
Borjas: The Economics of Immigration 1673
nally, suppose that the 1970 wave has the instead may reflect innate differences in
same skills as natives; the age-earnings ability or skills across cohorts.
profiles of the two groups is given by Cohort effects may also arise as a re-
QQ. There is no wage convergence be- sult of changes in economiC' or political
tween immigrants and natives in this hy- conditions in the source countries and in
pothetical example. the United States. Even if the United
Suppose we have access to data drawn States had not adopted the 1965 Amend-
from the 1990 Census cross-section. ments, improving economic conditions in
These data allow us to identifv onlv one Western Europe would have reduced the
point on each of the immigrant age:earn- number of immigrants from these "tradi-
ings profiles. In particular, we can ob- tional" source countries. The changing
serve the earnings of the immigrants who national origin mix of the immigrant flow
arrived in 1990 when they are 20 years generates cohort effects if skill levels
old; the earnings of the 1970 arrivals at vary across countries or if skills from dif-
age 40; and the earnings of the 1950 arri- ferent countries are not equally transfer-
vals at age 60. The age-earnings profile able to the United States. Finally, cohort
generated by the cross-section data, differences in average productivity will
therefore, is given by the line CC in Fig- be observed in a cross-section when
ure 2. The cross-section regression line there is nonrandom return migration. If
is steeper than the native age-earnings low-wage immigrant workers return to
profile, making it seem as if there is their source countries, the earlier waves
wage convergence between immigrants have been "weeded out" and will have
and natives, when in fact there is none. relatively higher earnings than more re-
Moreover, the cross-section regression cent waves.
line crosses the native age-earnings pro- It is evident that both the immigrant
file at age 40, making it seem as if immi- and native populations must be "tracked"
grant earnings overtake native earnings over time to correctly measure wage con-
after 20 years in the United States, when vergence between immigrants and na-
in fact no immigrant group experienced tives. Most longitudinal data sets either
such an overtaking. · contain very few immigrants or provide
Figure 2 shows how a cross-section re- nonrandom samples of the foreign-born
gression can yield erroneous insights population. As a result, the literature has
about the adaptation process experi- pursued the alternative of creating syn-
enced by immigrants if there are intrin- thetic cohorts of immigrants by tracking
sic differences in producthity across im- specific immigrant waves across the de-
migrant cohorts (or "cohort effects"). cennial Censuses or across the Current
Cohort effects can arise as a result of Population Surveys (CPS). The empirical
changes in immigration policy. For ex- evidence typically found in these studies
ample, the 1965 Amendments de-empha- is summarized in Table 3, which reports
sized the role of skills in allocating entry the unadjusted percentage wage differ-
visas, and instead makes these awards ential between immigrant and native
based almost entirely on whether the ap- men in each of the decennial Censuses
plicant has family ties \\ith current U.S. between 1970 and 1990.4
residents. If this policy shift generated a
less-skilled immigrant flow, the cross- 4 The calculations use a l/500 random sample of
section finding that more recent immi- native workers and a .5/100 random sa:nple of 'm-
migrant workers in each Ce?sus cexcept in 1970
grants earn le;s than earlier immigrants when the immigrant extract torms a 2/100 random
says little about wage convergence, but sample). The resulting data set contains 920,i00
7
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of
Pankinjohtajan tytär: Romaani Suomen
suurlakon ajalta
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.
Language: Finnish
PANKINJOHTAJAN TYTÄR
Romaani Suomen suurlakon ajalta
Kirj.
SELMA ANTTILA
Rakas serkku.
1 p. marrask. 1905.
Rakas serkku.
Virva Auer.
II
Tohtori Allas raivasi tien Airin kanssa Virvan luo ja tarttui hänen
käteensä vanhan ystävän oikeudella pidättäen sen ja vieden
kainaloonsa. Virva katsoi pettyneenä ympärilleen, vieras herra ei
ollutkaan heidän mukanaan. Virva irrotti kätensä hiljalleen heidän
päästessään pois tungoksesta.
— Nahkuri Karri tässä kävi, pyysi sanomaan, että hän pian palaa,
meni vain tiedustelemaan, mitä torilla puhutaan, selitti tyttö.
— Mitäs tästä sitten lopulta tulee, jos nyt kaikki lakkaavat oikein
pitkäksi aikaa! Ei kule junat, ei pala sähkö, ei saa lihaa, ei saa kohta
leipääkään, ei saa ajaa hevosella — ei suinkaan sitä sitten voi kauaa
syödäkkään. Pannaan kaikki rattaat seisomaan.
— Oluttehdasta.
Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.
ebooknice.com