JOB SEARCH AND IMMIGRANT ASSIMILATION - AN EARNINGS FRONTIER APPROACH

This study examines labor market assimilation by measuring the information utilized by immigrants during job search. Assimilation is assumed to occur whenever such information increases with length of residence in the United States (and repeated job searches). We assert that information utilized during job search reduces differentials between actual and "potential" (maximum attainable) earnings. The results indicate that male immigrants perform quite well within the U.S. labor force by garnering 71% of their potential earnings whereas non-immigrants reap 73.2% of their potential earnings. However, this result is not uniform across all immigrant workers but instead varies on the basis of ethnicity.