ASSIMILATION AND THE EARNINGS OF YOUNG INTERNAL MIGRANTS

This paper investigates if young internal migrants in the United States experience economic assimilation as they adapt to their new residential location. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we examine how the hourly earnings of interstate migrants are affected by the number of years they have spent in their destination state. Our study indicates that internal migrants initially earn less than natives, but that this wage differential disappears within a few years. Moreover, the initial wage disadvantage of internal migrants depends upon the distance moved and economic conditions in the destination labor market.