Trends in the Returns to Social Assimilation: Earnings Premiums Among U.S. Immigrants that Marry Natives

23 Pages Posted: 22 Nov 2014

See all articles by Delia Furtado

Delia Furtado

University of Connecticut - Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Tao Song

University of Connecticut

Abstract

Previous studies show that immigrants married to natives earn higher wages than immigrants married to other immigrants. Using data from the 1980-2000 U.S. censuses and the 2005-2010 American Community Surveys, we show that these wage premiums have increased over time. Our evidence suggests that the trends cannot be explained by changes in the attributes of immigrants that tend to marry natives but are instead most likely a result of increasing returns to the characteristics of immigrants married to natives. Because immigrants married to natives tend to have more schooling, part of the increasing premium can be explained by increases in the returns to a college education.However, we find increasing intermarriage premiums even when allowing the returns to schooling as well as English-speaking ability to vary over time. We believe these patterns are driven by changes in technology and globalization which have made communication and management skills more valuable in the U.S. labor market.

Keywords: intermarriage, wage premium, immigration, globalization

JEL Classification: J12, J24, J31, J61

Suggested Citation

Furtado, Delia and Song, Tao, Trends in the Returns to Social Assimilation: Earnings Premiums Among U.S. Immigrants that Marry Natives. IZA Discussion Paper No. 8626, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2529335 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2529335

Delia Furtado (Contact Author)

University of Connecticut - Department of Economics ( email )

365 Fairfield Way, U-1063
Storrs, CT 06269-1063
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Tao Song

University of Connecticut

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