The Economic Assimilation of Asian Immigrants: A Longitudinal Study

Zhen Zeng, University of Wisconsin at Madison

This paper examines the relationship between the timing of immigration and the earnings trajectories of Asian immigrants using data from the National Survey of College Graduates. The results show that the popular idea that immigrants experience lower initial earnings but faster growth so that they will eventually catch up with native workers requires some qualifications. First of all, the phenomenon of immigrant economic assimilation is not universal: Asian immigrants who completed education in America experience earnings trajectories similar to those of native workers. The earnings trajectories of Asian immigrants who completed education prior to immigration fall into the characterization of assimilation. And the earlier the migration in the life course, the better economic prospects they face in the U.S. However, even in the best scenario where immigration occurred immediately after graduation, foreign-educated Asian immigrants will only attain earnings parity with natives toward the end of their working lives.