2018/09/01 by Rohan Alexander, Zachary Ward · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Census #Demographic economics #Demography #Economics #Geography #Immigration #Labour economics #Mass migration #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Migration, Refugees, and Integration #Native-Born #Population #Residence #Sociology #Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies #Wage
paper · doi:10.1017/s0022050718000335
openalex publication_date 2018/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
We estimate the effect of age at arrival for immigrant outcomes with a new dataset of arrivals linked to the 1940 U.S. Census. Using within-family variation, we find that arriving at an older age, or having more childhood exposure to the European environment, led to a more negative wage gap relative to the native born. Infant arrivals had a positive wage gap relative to natives, in contrast to a negative gap for teenage arrivals. Therefore, a key determinant of immigrant outcomes during the Age of Mass Migration was the country of residence during critical periods of childhood development.