Essays on the Economic Outcomes of Children of Immigrants

• Other Authors: Dimanche, Ketsia S. (Stephanie) (author)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Economics
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/2019_Spring_Dimanche_fsu_0071E_14924

One of the main concerns about immigration is knowing whether immigrants will assimilate into American society. To assess whether immigrants have fully assimilated, the economic outcomes of their children must be analyzed. Previous research have shown that there are generational differences in economic outcomes of immigrants. These differences can be explained by differences in cognitive and noncognitive skills. The second and third chapters of this dissertation explore the relationship between immigrant status, behavioral traits and economic outcomes of young adults. In Chapter 2, I focus on earnings as the economic outcome. The analysis takes advantage of measurement of behaviors in the form of motivation, effort and control expectation from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to assess the relationship between these behaviors and immigrant status on earnings of a nationally representative sample of young adults. I also examine whether differences in earnings are explained by differences in behaviors that are attributed to immigrant status. I find that being born in a foreign country positively affects earnings and motivation is the behavior that has a significant positive effect on earnings. Immigrant-native earnings differences are not explained by differences in behaviors characterized by immigrant status. These results differ by gender. In Chapter 3, I extend the analysis by focusing on the education assimilation of immigrants. I analyze the relationship between immigrant status, behavioral traits and education attainment. In contrast to Chapter 2, I find that being foreign-born and being U.S.-born with immigrant parents positively affect education attainment. Motivation, effort, and control expectation significantly affect education attainment. Differences in effort and control that are characterized by being foreign-born explain differences in education. These results differ for men and women. Lastly, in Chapter 4, I examine the role of parental wealth in mitigating the effect of immigrant status and behavioral traits on education attainment. I find that parental wealth is a significant factor determining education attainment. More importantly, wealth is a moderating factor for the effect of race on education. While controlling for wealth and behavioral traits, Asians and Blacks see considerable increase in their education attainment. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Economics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Fall Semester 2018. === November 9, 2018. === Includes bibliographical references. === Patrick L. Mason, Professor Directing Dissertation; Katrinell Davis, University Representative; Carl Schmertmann, Committee Member; Gary Fournier, Committee Member.