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Imputation Match Bias in Immigrant Wage Convergence

Author

Listed:
  • Joni Hersch

    (Vanderbilt Law School)

  • Jennifer Bennett Shinall

    (Vanderbilt Law School)

Abstract

Although immigrants to the United States earn less at entry than their native-born counterparts, an extensive literature has found that immigrants have faster earnings growth that results in rapid convergence to native-born earnings. However, recent evidence based on U.S. Census data indicates a slowdown in the rate of earnings assimilation. We find that the pace of immigrant wage convergence based on recent data may be understated in the literature as a result of the method used by the census to impute missing information on earnings, which does not use immigration status as a match characteristic. Because both the share of immigrants in the workforce and earnings imputation rates have risen over time, imputation match bias for recent immigrants is more consequential than in earlier periods and may lead to an underestimate of the rate of immigrant wage convergence.

Suggested Citation

  • Joni Hersch & Jennifer Bennett Shinall, 2018. "Imputation Match Bias in Immigrant Wage Convergence," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(4), pages 1475-1485, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:55:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s13524-018-0686-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-018-0686-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Christopher R. Bollinger & Barry T. Hirsch, 2006. "Match Bias from Earnings Imputation in the Current Population Survey: The Case of Imperfect Matching," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 483-520, July.
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    8. Barry T. Hirsch & Edward J. Schumacher, 2004. "Match Bias in Wage Gap Estimates Due to Earnings Imputation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(3), pages 689-722, July.
    9. Bollinger, Christopher R. & Hirsch, Barry & Hokayem, Charles M. & Ziliak, James P., 2018. "Trouble in the Tails? What We Know about Earnings Nonresponse Thirty Years after Lillard, Smith, and Welch," IZA Discussion Papers 11710, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    Cited by:

    1. Hersch, Joni, 2024. "Colorism and Immigrant Earnings in the United States, 2015–2024," IZA Discussion Papers 17397, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigrant assimilation; Imputation match bias;

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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