Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Immigrant earnings: Language skills, linguistic concentrations and the business cycle

  • Chapter
How Labor Migrants Fare

Part of the book series: Population Economics ((POPULATION))

Abstract

This study of the determinants of earnings among adult foreign-born men using the 1990 Census of Population focuses on the effects of the respondent’s own English language skills, the effects of living in a linguistic concentration area, and the effects of the stage of the business cycle at entry into the U.S. labor market. The analysis demonstrates the importance of English language fluency among the foreign born from non-English speaking countries. There is also strong evidence for the complementarity between language skills and other forms of human capital. Furthermore, there is strong evidence using selectivity correction techniques for the endogeneity between language and earnings.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ahmed B, Gregory Robinson J (1994) Estimates of Emigration of the Foreign-Born Population: 1980–1990. Technical Working Paper No. 9, Washington D.C.: U.S. Bureau of the Census

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartel A, Koch M (1991) Internal Migration of U.S. Immigrants. In: Abowd JM, Freeman RB (eds) Immigration, Trade and the Labor Market. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 121–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Porath Y (1967) The Production of Human Capital and the Life Cycle of Earnings. Journal of Political Economy 75(4):352–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR (1978) The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-born Men. Journal of Political Economy 86(5):897–921

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR (1979) The Economic Progress of Immigrants: Some Apparently Universal Patterns. In: Fellner W (ed) Contemporary Economic Problems. American Enterprise Institute, Washington 357–399

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR (1997) Soviet Jews in the United States: Language and Labour Market Adjustments Revisited. In: Lewin-Epstein N, Ro’i Y, Ritterband P (eds) Russian Jews on Three Continents: Migration and Resettlement. Frank Cass, London 233–260

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR (1998) Hebrew Language Usage: Determinants and Effects on Earnings Among Immigrants in Israel. Journal of Population Economics 11(2):253–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR, Cohen Y, Zach T (1997) The Labor Market Status of Immigrants: Effects of the Unemployment Rate at Arrival and Duration of Residence. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 50(2):289–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR, Miller PW (1985) Immigrant Generation and Income in Australia. Economic Record 61(173):540–553

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR, Miller PW (1988) Earnings in Canada: The Roles of Immigrant Generation, French Ethnicity and Language. Research in Population Economics 6:183–224

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR, Miller PW (1992) Language in the Immigrant Labor Market. In: Chiswick BR (ed) Immigration, Language, and Ethnicity: Canada and the United States. American Enterprise Institute, Washington D.C. 229–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR, Miller PW (1995) The Endogeneity between Language and Earnings: International Analyses. Journal of Labor Economics 13(2):246–288

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR, Miller PW (1998) English Language Fluency Among Immigrants in the United States. Research in Labor Economics 17:151–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR, Miller PW (2000) The Complementarity of Language and Other Human Capital: Immigrants Earnings in Canada. RIIM Working Paper No. 00–08, Vancouver, July

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiswick BR, Repetto G (2001) Immigrant Adjustment in Israel: The Determinants of Literacy and Fluency in Hebrew and Their Effects on Earnings. In: Djajic S (ed) International Migration: Trends. Policies and Economic Impact. Routledge, London 204–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckman JJ (1979) Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error. Econometrica 47:153–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korenman S, Neumark D (1991) Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive. Journal of Human Resources 26(2): (Spring) pp. 282–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee L-F (1983) Generalized Econometric Models with Selectivity. Econometrica 51:507–512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mincer J (1974) Schooling, Experience and Earnings. National Bureau of Economic Research, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura A, Nakamura M (1992) Wage Rates of Immigrant and Native Men in Canada and the United States. In: Chiswick BR (ed) Immigration, Language and Ethnicity: Canada and the United States. American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C. 145–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart JB, Hyclak T (1984) An Analyses of Earnings Profiles of Immigrants. Review of Economics and Statistics 66(2):292–303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamer E (1988) English Language Proficiency and Earnings Among Foreign-Born Men. Journal of Human Resources 23(1):108–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White H (1980) A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity. Econometrica 48:817–838

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics (M/C 144), University of Illinois at Chicago, S. Morgan St. 601, 60607-7121, Chicago, IL, USA

    Barry R. Chiswick

  2. Department of Economics, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia

    Paul W. Miller

Authors
  1. Barry R. Chiswick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paul W. Miller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit (IZA), Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 7-9, 53113, Bonn, Germany

    Klaus F. Zimmermann

  2. Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Locust Walk 3718, 19104, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Amelie Constant

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Chiswick, B.R., Miller, P.W. (2004). Immigrant earnings: Language skills, linguistic concentrations and the business cycle. In: Zimmermann, K.F., Constant, A. (eds) How Labor Migrants Fare. Population Economics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24753-1_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-24753-1_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-53448-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-24753-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation