US immigrant earnings growth underestimated, impacting economic opportunities and social mobility.
Immigrant men in the USA have been thought to have low initial earnings and either high or low earnings growth. The way researchers look at the data can change this. When immigrants are tracked from their early years in the USA, their earnings growth is actually high. This happens when entry earnings are taken into account and when looking at groups of immigrants instead of individuals. By avoiding common restrictions in labor economics, a clearer picture of immigrant earnings growth emerges.