The Increase in Idleness of Immigrant Arrivals: The Role of Age at Arrival, Refugees, and Country of Origin

Abstract

Census data reveal that post-World War II immigration flows are contributing to the rising idleness of the U.S. resident male population. At the same length of U.S. residence, immigrants that arrived after 1970 display greater idleness (relative to natives) than immigrants that arrived in the 1950s and 60s. The analysis shows that the post-war rise in the relative idleness of immigrant arrivals is widespread, characterizing arrivals from non-refugee source countries, as well as arrivals from refugee-sending nations. Unlike other measures of the quality of immigrant cohorts, the post-war shift in the source country composition of new immigrants can not explain the bulk of the increase in immigrant idleness.

JEL Classification: J61