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Title: The Effect of Naturalization on the Earnings Profiles of Young Workers
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Nasir, Zafar Mueen
The Effect of Naturalization on the Earnings Profiles of Young Workers
Ph.D. Dissertation, Kansas State University, 1997.
Also: http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/9736782
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Census of Population; Immigrants; Labor Economics; Migration; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Wage Growth

(See also, Nasir, Zafar M. as alternative spelling for author's name.)
Prior studies suggest that immigrants assimilate into the labor market by acquiring skills such as language proficiency, familiarity with the host country's culture, and contacts in the labor market, thereby promoting rapid wage growth. In most of these studies, years since migration is used to capture the assimilation process. This study investigates whether naturalization also facilitates assimilation. In particular, the study examines whether naturalization leads to higher wages, either immediately or by accelerating wage growth. Reasons for any wage gains are also explored. The study incorporates two different data sets, U.S. census data from 1980 and National Longitudinal Survey data (youth cohort) from 1979 to 1991. The main results are derived from NLSY data. Furthermore, because of the longitudinal information in the NLSY data, the fixed-effects estimation procedure is used to net out the effects of unobservable personal fixed characteristics of immigrants which, if not accounted for, could bias estimates of returns to observable characteristics. The estimates from the fixed-effects model are then compared with estimates based on pooled NLSY data and 1980 census data. All models are estimated separately for male and female immigrants to determine the effect of naturalization by gender. Based on 1980 census data, estimated returns to citizenship amount to 1 percent for males and 4 percent for females. The NLSY data, which is restricted to younger immigrants who come from a different mix of countries, indicate a substantially larger reward for citizenship. The panel estimate is lower for females than the pooled estimate, suggesting that female immigrants who naturalized tend to have positive unmeasured personal characteristics, but panel and pooled estimates are comparable for males. The estimates reveal that time spent in the U.S. labor market as a citizen, even after standardizing for years since migration, is associated with higher wages for both male and female immigrants. The premium increases with years since naturalization. Our results further suggest that, for male immigrants, naturalization operates through experience and tenure by increasing returns to these attributes following citizenship, with the dominant role played by experience. For female immigrants, naturalization steepens the experience-earnings profile following citizenship.
Bibliography Citation
Nasir, Zafar Mueen. The Effect of Naturalization on the Earnings Profiles of Young Workers. Ph.D. Dissertation, Kansas State University, 1997..