Comparison of the economic performance of the China- and India-born immigrants with US natives

Abstract

Previous studies on the economic performance of immigrants in the United States of America showed that successive immigrants possess lower skills and experience sluggish wage growth, thereby making the wage convergence with the natives almost impossible. However, analysis of variance (ANOVA) post hoc tests using data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 2010–2019 on China- and India-born immigrants revealed otherwise. Both immigrant groups have significantly higher levels of education, better occupation and higher earnings compared to all foreign-born immigrants and natives. During 2010–2019, the earnings of China- and India-born immigrants increased faster than the natives’ due to their higher educational attainment. The general characteristics and experiences of all foreign-born vis-a-vis natives cannot be generalized across specific immigrant groups. Immigrants from different origin countries who have different skill levels and competencies show different earning differentials compared with the natives. Some immigrant groups even become more productive over time due to the increased portability of the human capital of their latest cohorts.