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Aboriginals as unwilling immigrants: Contact, assimilation and labour market outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Kuhn

    (Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA)

  • Arthur Sweetman

    (School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6 Canada)

Abstract

Like immigrants, aboriginal populations' economic success may be enhanced by the acquisition of skills and traits appropriate to the "majority" culture in which they reside. Using 1991 Canadian Census data, we show that Aboriginal labour market success is greater for Aboriginals whose ancestors intermarried with non-Aboriginals, for those who live off Indian reserves, and for those who live outside the Yukon and Northwest Territories. While these three "facts" could also be explained by a combination of other processes, such as discrimination, physical remoteness, and selection, only the skill/trait acquisition, or "assimilation" hypothesis is consistent with all three.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Kuhn & Arthur Sweetman, 2002. "Aboriginals as unwilling immigrants: Contact, assimilation and labour market outcomes," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 15(2), pages 331-355.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:15:y:2002:i:2:p:331-355
    Note: Received: 04 August 1998/Accepted: 12 October 2000
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Donna L. Feir, 2016. "The long‐term effects of forcible assimilation policy: The case of Indian boarding schools," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(2), pages 433-480, May.
    2. Frenette, Marc, 2011. "Are the Labour Market Benefits to Schooling Different for Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal People," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2011-17, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 27 Jul 2011.
    3. Belayet Hossain & Laura Lamb, 2012. "The Impact of Human and Social Capital on Aboriginal Employment Income in Canada," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 31(4), pages 440-450, December.
    4. Sholeh A. Maani, 2004. "Why Have Maori Relative Income Levels Deteriorated Over Time?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 80(248), pages 101-124, March.
    5. Button, Patrick & Walker, Brigham, 2020. "Employment discrimination against Indigenous Peoples in the United States: Evidence from a field experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Aragón, Fernando M., 2015. "Do better property rights improve local income?: Evidence from First Nations' treaties," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 43-56.
    7. Fuentes Cordoba, Gabriel, 2019. "Does the recognition of indigenous territories impact household economic situations? Evidence from western Panama," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 225-237.
    8. Terry L. Anderson & Dominic P. Parker, 2009. "Economic development lessons from and for North American Indian economies ," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 53(1), pages 105-127, January.
    9. Terry L. Anderson & Dominic P. Parker, 2008. "Sovereignty, Credible Commitments, and Economic Prosperity on American Indian Reservations," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(4), pages 641-666, November.
    10. Sweetman, A. & van Ours, J.C., 2014. "Immigration : What About the Children and Grandchildren?," Discussion Paper 2014-009, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    11. Feir, Donn. L. & Foley, Kelly & Jones, Maggie E. C., 2022. "Heterogeneous Returns to Active Labour Market Programs for Indigenous Populations," IZA Discussion Papers 15358, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Abdurrahman Aydemir & Arthur Sweetman, 2007. "First- and Second-Generation Immigrant Educational Attainment and Labor Market Outcomes: A Comparison of the United States and Canada," Research in Labor Economics, in: Immigration, pages 215-270, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    13. Fernando M. Aragón & Anke S. Kessler, 2020. "Property rights on First Nations reserve land," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(2), pages 460-495, May.
    14. Matthew Gregg & Melinda C. Miller, 2022. "Race and agriculture during the assimilation era: Evidence from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(37), pages 1109-1136.
    15. Matthew Manning & Christopher L. Ambrey & Christopher M. Fleming, 2016. "A Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Wellbeing in Australia," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 2503-2525, December.
    16. Thiessen, Victor, 2009. "The Pursuit of Post-Secondary Education: A Comparison of First Nations, African, Asian and European Canadian Youth," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2009-28, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 22 Apr 2009.
    17. Yukiko Tanaka, 2023. "Healing Toward Interdependency: Building Skills and Resistance Through Immigrant and Indigenous Employment," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 211-229, March.
    18. Frenette, Marc, 2011. "What Explains the Educational Attainment Gap between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Youth?," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2011-13, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 27 Jun 2011.
    19. Melinda C. Miller, 2024. "Assimilation and economic development: the case of federal Indian policy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 199(3), pages 387-404, June.
    20. Shawn Blankinship & Laura Lamb, 2022. "Exploring First Nation Community Well‐being in Canada: The Impact of Geographic and Financial Factors," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 41(2), pages 128-154, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Aboriginal · wages · employment;

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J7 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination

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