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Intergenerational Progress of Mexican-Origin Workers in the U.S. Labor Market

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Author Info
Trejo, Stephen () (Department of Economics, University of Texas and IZA, Bonn)

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Abstract

Using unique Current Population Survey data from November 1979 and 1989, this paper compares the wage structure across generations of Mexican-origin men. I find that the sizable earnings advantage U.S.-born Mexican Americans enjoy over Mexican immigrants arises not just from intergenerational improvements in years of schooling and English proficiency, but also from increased returns to human capital for Mexican-origin workers who were born and educated in the United States. Even if we consider immigrants who have worked in the United States for 40 years and who therefore have had ample time for labor market assimilation, my estimates indicate that a discrete jump in earnings and the wage structure occurs between the first and second generations. Progress seems to stall after the second generation, however, as the much more modest gains in schooling and English fluency that occur between the second and third generations do not appear to raise the earnings of Mexican Americans any further.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 377.

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Length: 40 pages
Date of creation: Oct 2001
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp377

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Related research
Keywords: Mexican; wages; intergenerational;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Levy, Frank & Murnane, Richard J, 1992. "U.S. Earnings Levels and Earnings Inequality: A Review of Recent Trends and Proposed Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 1333-81, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Robert J. LaLonde & Robert H. Topel, 1990. "The Assimilation of Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Markets," NBER Working Papers 3573, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Chiswick, Barry R, 1978. "The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-born Men," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 897-921, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Darren Lubotsky, 2000. "Chutes or Ladders? A Longitudinal Analysis of Immigrant Earnings," Working Papers 824, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Murphy, Kevin M & Welch, Finis, 1992. "The Structure of Wages," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(1), pages 285-326, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. George J. Borjas & Richard B. Freeman, 1992. "Immigration and the Workforce: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number borj92-1, September.
  7. Borjas, George J, 1985. "Assimilation, Changes in Cohort Quality, and the Earnings of Immigrants," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(4), pages 463-89, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. James D. Gwartney & James E. Long, 1978. "The relative earnings of blacks and other minorities," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 31(3), pages 336-346, April.
  9. Reimers, Cordelia W, 1983. "Labor Market Discrimination against Hispanic and Black Men," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 570-79, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Edward Funkhouser, . "How Much of Immigrant Wage Assimilation is Related to English Language Acquisition?," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series 1-96, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara.
  11. repec:fth:prinin:445 is not listed on IDEAS
  12. Bernt Bratsberg, 2002. "School Quality and Returns to Education of U.S. Immigrants," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 40(2), pages 177-198, April.
  13. Geoffrey Carliner, 1996. "The Wages and Language Skills of U.S. Immigrants," NBER Working Papers 5763, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Juhn, Chinhui & Murphy, Kevin M & Pierce, Brooks, 1993. "Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(3), pages 410-42, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2005. "Gender and Assimilation Among Mexican Americans," NBER Working Papers 11512, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Christian Dustmann & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2006. "Ethnic Minority Immigrants and their Children in Britain," CReAM Discussion Paper Series 0610, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. George J. Borjas & Lawrence F. Katz, 2005. "The Evolution of the Mexican-Born Workforce in the United States," NBER Working Papers 11281, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard, 2001. "The Racial Wage Gap: The Importance of Labor Force Attachment Differences Across Black, Mexican and White Men," Claremont Colleges Working Papers 2001-35, Claremont Colleges. [Downloadable!]
  5. Beissinger, Thomas, 2001. "The Impact of Labor Market Reforms on Capital Flows, Wages and Unemployment," IZA Discussion Papers 390, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard, . "The Relative Earnings of Young Mexican, Black, and White Women," Claremont Colleges Working Papers 1999-02, Claremont Colleges. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Robert W. Fairlie & Christopher Woodruff, 2008. "Mexican-American Entrepreneurship," CEPR Discussion Papers 575, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University. [Downloadable!]
  8. Gordon H. Hanson, 2006. "Illegal Migration from Mexico to the United States," NBER Working Papers 12141, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Mary MacKinnon & Daniel Parent, 2006. "Resisting The Melting Pot: The Long Term Impact Of Maintaining Identity For Franco-Americans In New England," Departmental Working Papers 2005-03, McGill University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard, . "Against All Odds: The Surprising Labor Market Success of Young Mexican Women," Canadian International Labour Network Working Papers 26, McMaster University. [Downloadable!]
  11. Krishna Pendakur & Ravi Pendakur, 2002. "Colour My World: Have Earnings Gaps for Canadian-Born Ethnic Minorities Changed Over Time?," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 28(4), pages 489-511, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. George J. Borjas, 2000. "Immigration and the Food Stamp Program," JCPR Working Papers 121, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
  13. Heather Antecol & Kelly Bedard, 2002. "The Racial Wage Gap: The Importance of Labor Force Attachment Differences," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series 7-02, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-2.

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