The Assimilation of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market: Employment and Labor Force Turnover

by Hurst,Michael E.

• ISBN13: 9780815332251
• ISBN10: 0815332254
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-12-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This book analyzes the labor market adjustment processes of immigrants in the United States. Newly-arrived immigrants earn less, work fewer weeks, and have higher rates of unemployment than native-born workers. After a period of assimilation, these conditions later converge to, and often surpass, those of native-born workers. The adjustment process traditionally implies greater employment turnover. Newly-arrived immigrant men have lower employment and labor force participation rates than similar native-born American men. Yet differences in unemployment rates are less consistent, and are complicated by shorter periods of unemployment duration for immigrants. Contrary to expectations, recent immigrants are less likely to be unemployed, even after adjusting for a lower duration of unemployment. This is partly because movements in and out of the labor force are high. Lower employment for recent immigrants is best explained by lower labor force participation, while higher unemployment rates are bestexplained by high rates of labor force entry. All labor force outcomes for immigrants, whether higher or lower upon arrival, converge to native-born norms after a few years of residence.

Table of Contents

Figures	ix	(2)
Tables	xi	(2)
Acknowledgments	xiii
I. Introduction	3	(8)
1.1 Background	4	(3)
1.2 Issues of Immigration	7	(2)
1.3 Focus of the Dissertation	9	(2)
II. Theories of Immigration	11	(10)
2.1 The Decision to Migrate to a Foreign Country	11	(4)
2.2 Assimilation and Self-Selection Hypotheses	15	(4)
2.3 The Cohort Quality Hypothesis	19	(2)
III. Models of Labour Turnover and Unemployment	21	(18)
3.1 Issues of Measurement--Stocks and Flows	22	(3)
3.2 Causes of Unemployment--Turnover vs. Lack of Jobs	25	(2)
3.3 Types of Unemployment	27	(1)
3.4 Causes of Unemployment--Job Search, Rigid Wages, Disequilibria	28	(1)
3.5 Search Theories	28	(4)
A. Overview	28	(2)
B. Search Strategies	30	(1)
C. Voluntary Quits	31	(1)
D. Criticisms	32	(1)
3.6 Reservation Wages	32	(1)
3.7 Firm-Specific Human Capital	33	(1)
3.8 Employer Behavior	33	(3)
A. Implicit Contracts	34	(1)
B. Efficiency Wages	35	(1)
C. Insider/Outsider Models	36	(1)
3.9 Efficient Turnover	36	(3)
IV. Empirical Evidence in the Literature	39	(12)
4.1 Immigrant Labor Market Adjustment	39	(5)
4.2 Unemployment and Labor Market Turnover	44	(7)
A. Demographic Groups	45	(1)
B. Unemployment Rates	46	(1)
C. Separation Rates	46	(1)
D. Quit Rates	47	(1)
E. Labor Force Movement of Youth	47	(2)
F. Efficiency Wages and Firm-Specific Human Capital	49	(2)
V. The Theory of Immigrant Unemployment and Turnover, and Hypotheses	51	(8)
VI. Data Sources	59	(6)
6.1 Current Population Survey	59	(2)
A. Basic Survey Questions	60	(1)
B. Supplements	60	(1)
6.2 Survey of Income and Education	61	(1)
6.3 The Combined Database	62	(1)
6.4 Data Limitations	62	(3)
VII. The Model, Estimating Equations, and Methodology	65	(18)
7.1 Functional Form and Dependent Variables	65	(3)
7.2 Explanatory Variables	68	(15)
A. Postmigration Acquisition of Labor Market Skills	68	(1)
B. Wage Distribution, and the Cost of Search	68	(2)
C. Local Labor Market Conditions	70	(1)
D. Other Regional Effects	70	(1)
E. Individual Value of Non-market Work	70	(1)
F. Period Effects	71	(1)
G. Other Individual Level Effects	72	(11)
VIII. Employment, Unemployment, Out of the Labor Force	83	(42)
8.1 Basic Model Variables, Coefficients	83	(16)
8.2 The Foreign Born Variables	99	(11)
8.3 Disaggregation by Racial/Ethnic Group	110	(13)
8.4 Summary of Chapter 8	123	(2)
IX. Job Losers, Job Leavers, Labor Force Entrants	125	(24)
9.1 The Basic Model	126	(10)
9.2 The Foreign Born Variables	136	(11)
9.3 Summary of Chapter 9	147	(2)
X. Search Duration--Weeks Looking for Work	149	(22)
10.1 Description of Model, and Problems	149	(5)
10.2 Empirical Results--Basic Model	154	(12)
10.3 The Foreign Born Variables	166	(2)
10.4 Summary of Chapter 10	168	(3)
XI. Adjusting Unemployment Probabilities for Duration of Unemployment	171	(14)
11.1 Derivation of the Estimating Equations	172	(5)
11.2 The Basic Model	177	(4)
11.3 The Foreign Born Variables	181	(1)
11.4 Summary of Chapter 11	182	(3)
XII. Summary, Conclusions, Policy Implications	185	(16)
12.1 The Assimilation Hypothesis	185	(1)
12.2 Labor Force Hypotheses, and Study Design	186	(3)
12.3 Summary of Findings, Base Variables	189	(2)
12.4 Summary of Findings, Foreign Born Variables	191	(3)
12.5 Discussion	194	(2)
12.6 Policy Implications and Conclusion	196	(5)
Notes	201	(2)
Appendices Appendix A.	203	(4)
Cited References	207