American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Myth of Immigrant Women as Secondary Workers: Evidence from Canada
American Economic Review
vol. 104,
no. 5, May 2014
(pp. 360–64)
Abstract
We use the confidential files of the Canadian Census 1991–2006, combined with information from O*NET on the skill requirements of jobs, to show that the labor market patterns of female immigrants do not fit the profile of secondary workers, but rather conform to the recent experience of married native women with rising participation (and wage assimilation). At best, only relatively uneducated immigrant women in unskilled occupations may fit the profile of secondary workers. Educated immigrant women experience skill assimilation over time: a reduction in physical strength and a gradual increase in analytical skills required in their jobs relative to natives.Citation
Adserà, Alícia, and Ana M. Ferrer. 2014. "The Myth of Immigrant Women as Secondary Workers: Evidence from Canada." American Economic Review, 104 (5): 360–64. DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.5.360Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity