Are Asian Americans Disadvantaged by Residing More in the West? Migration, Region, and Earnings among Asian American Men

Abstract

In studying labor market inequality of Asian Americans, the role of region and migration remain key factors that have not been much taken into account in the prior research. Using the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), this study examines whether native-born and 1.5-generation Asian Americans are more likely than whites to reside in the West. We also investigate whether native-born and 1.5-generation Asian Americans have higher earnings than whites when broken down by West versus non-West. In addition to an OLS regression model, a switching regression model is used in order to account the possibility of sample selectivity between wages and region among men who are observed to reside in the West and in the non-West. This study can therefore ask, net of demographic and socioeconomic factors and selectivity, if there is no differential in earnings between Asian Americans and whites in the West, as well as in the non-West. The results of this study indicate that Asian Americans are more likely than whites to currently reside in the West, regardless of age category and nativity. This study also finds that Asian American men do not face a substantial disadvantage in the US labor market, net of demographic and class factors. Finally, switching regression models demonstrate that both younger native-born and younger 1.5-generation Asian Americans in the West and 1.5-generation Asian Americans in the non-West have significantly higher average earnings than whites, after further controlling for selectivity. This indicates that the estimated earnings differentials for younger Asian Americans and whites are obscured when using OLS, which does not account for selectivity. In regard to selectivity, there is a positive selection into living in the West, while the selection is negative living into the non-West

Do Asian Americans Face Labor Market Discrimination? Accounting for the Cost of Living among Native-born Men and Women

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“Black Genius, Asian Fail”: The Detriment of Stereotype Lift and Stereotype Threat in High-Achieving Asian and Black STEM Students

“…The limited characterizations of Asian peoples and cultures perpetuate the false assumption that race is not relevant to Asian Americans’ mental or physical health because racial discrimination and prejudice do not affect them. Furthermore, while Asian families tend to have higher mean family incomes than both Blacks and Whites, Asians also have higher mean family sizes and are more likely to live in multigenerational families (Takei, Sakamoto, & Powers, 2012). Asian people also face what Jane Hyun (2005) has called the “bamboo ceiling”: rising only so far through the ranks of employment.…”

Privilege and hindrance on the USA earnings distribution by gender and race/ethnicity: an intersectional framework with 12 groups

“…Most studies based on recent data claim Asian women and men are not penalized relative to their White peers, at least not those born in the US (Sakamoto and Furuichi, 2002; Takei et al. , 2012).…”

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