Ethnic Enclaves and Immigrant Labor Market Outcomes: Quasi-Experimental Evidence

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Labor Economics
Year: 2009
Volume: 27
Issue: 2
Pages: 281-314

Score contribution per author:

4.036 = (α=2.02 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

I examine the effects of the ethnic enclave size on labor market outcomes of immigrants. I account for ability sorting into enclaves by exploiting a Danish spatial dispersal policy under which refugees were randomly dispersed across locations. First, I find strong evidence that refugees with unfavorable unobserved characteristics self-select into ethnic enclaves. Second, a relative standard deviation increase in the ethnic enclave size increases annual earnings by 18% on average, irrespective of skill level. Third, further findings are consistent with the explanation that ethnic networks disseminate job information, which increases the job-worker match quality and thereby the hourly wage rate. (c) 2009 by The University of Chicago.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jlabec:v:27:y:2009:i:2:p:281-314
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-25