Job mobility as a new explanation for the immigrant-native wage gap: A longitudinal analysis for the German labor market

Theoretically, wage gaps between migrants and natives can be explained by human capital theory through either depreciation in human capital with migration or differences in endowments. However, even after considering human capital measures, an unexplained difference remains. We assume that differences in the employment trajectories of migrants and natives contribute to wages that diverge after labor market entrance. Utilizing a rich longitudinal data set (ALWA-ADIAB), we analyze the job mobility of migrants and natives in Germany and distinguish among voluntary, involuntary, internal and other job changes. Indeed, we find evidence for differences in transition patterns and - using several fixed-effects regressions - are able to explain a substantial part of the gap between migrants' and natives' hourly wages by differences in job change behavior.