Have Asian American Men Achieved Labor Market Parity with White Men?

Abstract

We use the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates to investigate earnings differentials between white and Asian American men. We extend prior literature by disaggregating Asian Americans by their immigration status in relation to the U.S. educational system, and by accounting for the effects of field of study and college type. Net of the latter variables and other demographic controls, native-born Asian American men have 8 percent lower earnings than do measurably comparable white men. Our findings show that Asian American men who were schooled entirely overseas have substantial earnings disadvantages, while Asian American men who obtained their highest degree in the United States but completed high school overseas have an intermediate earnings disadvantage. Net of the control variables, including region of residence, only 1.5-generation Asian American men appear to have reached full parity with whites. Most Asian American men lag at least slightly behind white men in terms of full equality in the labor market net of the measured covariates in our statistical models. No one theoretical approach seems able to explain our findings; instead, we suggest the relevance of several perspectives, including the racialized hierarchy view, the demographic heterogeneity approach, and assimilation theory.

The Life Satisfaction of Asian Americans: Evidence from the U.S. General Social Survey, 1972 to 2010

“…For example, prior research has shown that Asian Americans are far more likely than whites to enter into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields of study and occupations (Kim & Sakamoto, 2010). The latter more consistently provide for a higher and more stable long-term income but many Americans apparently seem to find them to lead to less intrinsically rewarding jobs (Joyner, 2011).…”

The international transferability of human capital in nursing

“…An important question unaddressed by these papers is whether immigrants with domestic education are comparable to natives. Kim and Sakamoto (2010) fill this gap in the literature and illustrate that completing high school in the U.S. eliminates the foreign-born disadvantage for college-educated Asian men.…”

Job matching for Chinese and Asian Indian immigrants in Canada

“…From a life course perspective, the age at which immigrants arrive in the country can have considerable effect on their subsequent integration (Kim and Sakamoto 2010;Lee and Edmonston 2011;Rumbaut 2008;Myers and Cranford 1998;Myers et al 2009). Despite variations in understanding the process, most studies, especially those drawn from studies of the 1.5 generation of immigrants, agree that immigrants who arrive at an earlier age have better adjustment outcomes than those who arrived in the country at an older age (Kim and Sakamoto 2010;Portes and Schauffler 1994).…”

“…Despite variations in understanding the process, most studies, especially those drawn from studies of the 1.5 generation of immigrants, agree that immigrants who arrive at an earlier age have better adjustment outcomes than those who arrived in the country at an older age (Kim and Sakamoto 2010;Portes and Schauffler 1994). Subsequently, their economic achievements are better off.…”