Renouncing Personal Names: An Empirical Examination of Surname Change and Earnings

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Labor Economics
Year: 2009
Volume: 27
Issue: 1
Pages: 127-147

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

We study the effects of surname change to Swedish-sounding or neutral names on earnings for immigrants from Asian/African/Slavic countries. To estimate this effect, we exploit the variation resulting from different timing of name changes across individuals during the 1990s. The results imply that there is a substantial increase in annual earnings after a name change, no effects on earnings prior to a name change, and no positive general effects of a new name for other groups that renounced a foreign name. Based on these findings, we argue that these effects are due to name change as a response to discrimination. (c) 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jlabec:v:27:y:2009:i:1:p:127-147
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24