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Relative Wages of Immigrant Men and the Great Recession

Author

Listed:
  • Fahad Gill

    (West Virginia University (Tech.))

  • Abdihafit Shaeye

    (Kent State University)

Abstract

Using CPS data from 2007 to 2012, we examine the contemporaneous effect of the Great Recession on the relative wages of immigrant men. Compared to pre-recession period, immigrants see a modest decline in their relative wages during the recession regardless of model specification. After the recession, immigrants’ relative wages largely recover from the recession-induced decline, but the wage disadvantage does not completely revert back to its pre-recession level. Selective in- and out-migration by immigrants or selection of natives into employment do not seem to drive the results. It appears that, during the recession, immigrants may have traded higher employment with lower wages and employers might have been willing to hire them as a cost-saving measure. The results could have implications for how relative wages of immigrants respond to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic Recession.

Suggested Citation

  • Fahad Gill & Abdihafit Shaeye, 2022. "Relative Wages of Immigrant Men and the Great Recession," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-12, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joerap:v:5:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s41996-020-00067-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s41996-020-00067-w
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jesse Rothstein, 2011. "Unemployment Insurance and Job Search in the Great Recession," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 42(2 (Fall)), pages 143-213.
    2. George J. Borjas, 2021. "Does Immigration Grease the Wheels of the Labor Market?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 14, pages 431-484, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Bernt Bratsberg & Erling Barth & Oddbjørn Raaum, 2006. "Local Unemployment and the Relative Wages of Immigrants: Evidence from the Current Population Surveys," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 243-263, May.
    4. Chiswick, Barry R. & Miller, Paul W., 2009. "The international transferability of immigrants' human capital," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 162-169, April.
    5. Michael W. L. Elsby & Donggyun Shin & Gary Solon, 2016. "Wage Adjustment in the Great Recession and Other Downturns: Evidence from the United States and Great Britain," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(S1), pages 249-291.
    6. Barry R. Chiswick, 2005. "The Economics of Immigration," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3160, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigrants; Relative wages; Recession; Reservation wage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers

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