Effects of Business Cycles on the Labour Market Assimilation of Immigrants

This study addresses the effects of macroeconomic conditions on the labour market outcomes of immigrants. It simultaneously identifies both the effects of macroeconomic conditions at the time of entry into the labour market and at the time of the survey was taken, while allowing for cohort effects. Also, for the first time in the literature, the impacts on labour force participation along with employment outcomes are explored. The study uses 19 annual cross-sections of the Survey of Consumer Finances, covering the period from 1979 to 1997. The results suggest that the deterioration in the assimilation of recent immigrants is partly due to the adverse economic conditions they face in the year they enter the labour market and the subsequent years following. Macroeconomic conditions at the time of labour market entry have adverse impacts on both labour force participation (LFP) and employment. With the inclusion of controls for macroeconomic conditions, the significance and magnitude of the assimilation-measuring co-efficient increases. Therefore, not only are the estimated cohort effects sensitive to the inclusion of controls for business cycles, but so too are the assimilation profiles.