IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ana/journl/v8y2022i1p15-34.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Employability and Labor Income of Immigrants in the US: A Special Focus on the Roles of Language and Home Country Income Level

Author

Listed:
  • Selda Dudu

    (Department of Sociology, University of Seville)

Abstract

Speaking the most-demanded languages is an asset in the labor market. However, coming from a high-income country may give immigrants an advantage in the labor market as those may have more transferable skills. This article investigates the determinants of the employability and labor income of immigrants and newcomer immigrants in the United States (US) labor market, specifically focusing on the role of language and income level of the home country. It applies the Heckman two-step selection procedure to the American Community Survey between 2000 and 2019. The findings show that immigrating from both high-income countries and countries where internationally most widely used languages (English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese) are spoken gives immigrants an advantage in the US labor market compared to those from the countries where only national languages are spoken. This article emphasizes the key role of the income level of the home country on immigrants' labor income in the US. It contributes to the literature by employing the interaction terms of being from the same-income-level countries and the same-languages-speaking countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Selda Dudu, 2022. "Employability and Labor Income of Immigrants in the US: A Special Focus on the Roles of Language and Home Country Income Level," World Journal of Applied Economics, WERI-World Economic Research Institute, vol. 8(1), pages 15-34, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ana:journl:v:8:y:2022:i:1:p:15-34
    DOI: 10.22440/wjae.8.1.2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journal.econworld.org/index.php/econworld/article/view/187/71
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22440/wjae.8.1.2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kahanec, Martin & Zimmermann, Klaus F. & Kureková, Lucia Mýtna & Biavaschi, Costanza, 2013. "Labour Migration from EaP Countries to the EU – Assessment of Costs and Benefits and Proposals for Better Labour Market Matching," IZA Research Reports 56, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Mattoo, Aaditya & Neagu, Ileana Cristina & Özden, Çaglar, 2008. "Brain waste? Educated immigrants in the US labor market," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 255-269, October.
    3. Barbone, Luca & Kahanec, Martin & Kureková, Lucia Mýtna & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2013. "Migration from the Eastern Partnership Countries to the European Union — Options for a Better Future," IZA Research Reports 55, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Bell, Brian D, 1997. "The Performance of Immigrants in the United Kingdom: Evidence from the GHS," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(441), pages 333-344, March.
    5. Kathryn H. Anderson & Zhen Huang, 2019. "Can immigrants ever earn as much as native workers?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 159-159, April.
    6. Christian Dustmann & Francesca Fabbri, 2003. "Language proficiency and labour market performance of immigrants in the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(489), pages 695-717, July.
    7. Saba Colakoglu & Dilek G. Yunlu & Gamze Arman, 2018. "High-skilled female immigrants: career strategies and experiences," Journal of Global Mobility, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(3/4), pages 258-284, August.
    8. Geoffrey Carliner, 1981. "Wage Differences by Language Group and the Market for Language Skills in Canada," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 16(3), pages 384-399.
    9. Namkee Ahn & José Ignacio García-Pérez, 2002. "Unemployment duration and workers' wage aspirations in Spain," Spanish Economic Review, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 4(2), pages 103-118.
    10. Nanos, Panagiotis & Schluter, Christian, 2014. "The composition of wage differentials between migrants and natives," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 23-44.
    11. Barry R. Chiswick, 1998. "Hebrew language usage: Determinants and effects on earnings among immigrants in Israel," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 11(2), pages 253-271.
    12. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
    13. Anne Green & Maria de Hoyos & Sally-Anne Barnes & David Owen & Beate Baldauf & Heike Behle, 2013. "Literature Review on Employability, Inclusion and ICT, Part 1: The Concept of employability, with a specific focus on Young people, older workers and migrants," JRC Research Reports JRC75518, Joint Research Centre.
    14. Michel Beine & Frédéric Docquier & Çağlar Özden, 2010. "Diaspora Effects in International Migration: Key Questions and Methodological Issues," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 146(IV), pages 639-659, December.
    15. Ene Ikpebe & Michael C. Seeborg, 2018. "Earnings Performance of African Immigrants: Evidence from the American Community Survey," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 46(2), pages 215-230, June.
    16. Ronald W. McQuaid & Colin Lindsay, 2005. "The Concept of Employability," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(2), pages 197-219, February.
    17. Bloemen, Hans G & Stancanelli, Elena G F, 2001. "Individual Wealth, Reservation Wages, and Transitions into Employment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(2), pages 400-439, April.
    18. Thomas Liebig, 2007. "The Labour Market Integration of Immigrants in Denmark," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 50, OECD Publishing.
    19. Donald R. Williams, 2011. "Multiple language usage and earnings in Western Europe," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(4), pages 372-393, July.
    20. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162, December.
    21. Duleep, Harriet & Regets, Mark, 2002. "The Elusive Concept of Immigrant Quality: Evidence from 1970-1990," IZA Discussion Papers 631, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Alan Barrett & Séamus McGuinness & Martin O'Brien, 2012. "The Immigrant Earnings Disadvantage across the Earnings and Skills Distributions: The Case of Immigrants from the EU's New Member States," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(3), pages 457-481, September.
    23. Alan Barrett & Yvonne McCarthy, 2007. "Immigrants in a Booming Economy: Analysing Their Earnings and Welfare Dependence," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 21(4‐5), pages 789-808, December.
    24. Selda Dudu, 2022. "Employment Status and Labour Income of Turkish and Other Immigrants in the United States," Migration Letters, Migration Letters, vol. 19(2), pages 235-245, March.
    25. 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.
    26. Bauder, Harald, 2006. "Labor Movement: How Migration Regulates Labor Markets," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195180886.
    27. George J. Borjas, 2021. "Self-Selection and the Earnings of Immigrants," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 4, pages 69-91, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    28. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    29. Barry R. Chiswick & Paul W. Miller, 2018. "Do native-born bilinguals in the US earn more?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 563-583, September.
    30. Jasso, Guillermina & Rosenzweig, Mark R., 1985. "What's In a Name? Country-of-Origin Influences on the Earnings of Immigrants in the United States," Bulletins 8424, University of Minnesota, Economic Development Center.
    31. Mancinelli, Susanna & Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Piva, Nora & Ponti, Giovanni, 2010. "Education, reputation or network? Evidence on migrant workers employability," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 64-71, January.
    32. Chiswick, Barry R., 2008. "The Economics of Language: An Introduction and Overview," IZA Discussion Papers 3568, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    33. Stephan Thomsen & Thomas Walter & Alisher Aldashev, 2013. "Short-term training programs for immigrants in the German welfare system: do effects differ from natives and why?," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-20, December.
    34. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/9704 is not listed on IDEAS
    35. Nicholas Hill & Richard McGregory & James Peoples, 2018. "Noncitizen Employment and the Wages of Healthcare Support Workers in the US," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 433-461, December.
    36. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/9704 is not listed on IDEAS
    37. Maskileyson, Dina, 2019. "Health trajectories of immigrants in the United States: Does income inequality of country of origin matter?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 246-255.
    38. Attakrit Leckcivilize & Alexander Straub, 2018. "Headscarf and job recruitment—lifting the veil of labour market discrimination," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-32, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht, 2011. "Migration and Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 327-439, Elsevier.
    2. Dequiedt, Vianney & Zenou, Yves, 2013. "International migration, imperfect information, and brain drain," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 62-78.
    3. Oliver Himmler & Robert Jäckle, 2018. "Literacy and the Migrant–Native Wage Gap," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(3), pages 592-625, September.
    4. Zhiling Wang & Thomas de Graaff & Peter Nijkamp, 2018. "Barriers of Culture, Networks, and Language in International Migration: A Review," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 5, pages 73-89.
    5. Annabelle Krause & Ulf Rinne & Simone Schüller, 2015. "Kick It Like Özil? Decomposing the Native-Migrant Education Gap," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(3), pages 757-789, September.
    6. Christian Ebner & Marc Helbling, 2016. "Social distance and wage inequalities for immigrants in Switzerland," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 30(3), pages 436-454, June.
    7. Jens Ruhose, 2013. "Bildungsleistungen von Migranten und deren Determinanten – Teil II: Primar-, Sekundar- und Tertiärbereich," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 66(10), pages 24-38, May.
    8. Lang Kevin & Siniver Erez, 2009. "The Return to English in a Non-English Speaking Country: Russian Immigrants and Native Israelis in Israel," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(1), pages 1-30, November.
    9. Hatton, Timothy J. & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 1998. "Migration, Migrants and Policy in the United Kingdom," CEPR Discussion Papers 1960, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Arbel, Yuval & Tobol, Yossef & Siniver, Erez, 2012. "Social Involvement and Level of Household Income among Immigrants: New Evidence from the Israeli Experience," IZA Discussion Papers 6416, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Sorrenti, Giuseppe, 2017. "The Spanish or the German apartment? Study abroad and the acquisition of permanent skills," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 142-158.
    12. Ebner, Christian & Helbling, Marc, 2016. "Social distance and wage inequalities for immigrants in Switzerland," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 436-454.
    13. Abdulla, Kanat, 2020. "Human capital accumulation: Evidence from immigrants in low-income countries," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 951-973.
    14. Chiswick, Barry R. & Wang, Zhiling, 2016. "Social Contacts, Dutch Language Proficiency and Immigrant Economic Performance in the Netherlands: A Longitudinal Study," IZA Discussion Papers 9760, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Mehtap Akguc & Ana Ferrer, 2015. "Educational Attainment and Labor Market Performance: An Analysis of Immigrants in France," Working Papers 1505, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2015.
    16. Valentine Fays & Benoît Mahy & François Rycx, 2023. "Wage differences according to workers' origin: The role of working more upstream in GVCs," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 37(2), pages 319-342, June.
    17. Daniel Hamermesh & Stephen Trejo, 2013. "How do immigrants spend their time? The process of assimilation," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 507-530, April.
    18. De Coulon, Augustin & Wadsworth, Jonathan, 2008. "On the relative gains to immigration: a comparison of the labour market position of Indians in the USA, the UK and India," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19634, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Seid, Yared, 2016. "Does learning in mother tongue matter? Evidence from a natural experiment in Ethiopia," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 21-38.
    20. Euwals, Rob & Dagevos, Jaco & Gijsberts, Mérove & Roodenburg, Hans, 2007. "Immigration, Integration and the Labour Market: Turkish Immigrants in Germany and the Netherlands," IZA Discussion Papers 2677, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Employability; Foreign language knowledge; Income level of home country; Immigrants; Labor income;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ana:journl:v:8:y:2022:i:1:p:15-34. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Unal Tongur (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ewanatr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.