Convergence or Divergence? Immigrant Wage Assimilation Patterns in Germany

Using a rich panel data set, I estimate wage assimilation patterns for immigrants in Germany as an example of a key European destination country. This study contributes to the literature by performing separate estimations by skill groups. Comparisons with similar natives reveal that immigrants’ experience earnings profiles are flatter on average, although clear differences exist between skill groups. The effect of time spent in the host country is significantly positive and thus partly offsetting the diverging trend in the experience earnings profiles. Still, wage differences between natives and immigrants remain. They are particularly noticeable for highly skilled immigrants, the group needed most in Germany’s skill intensive labor market