Effects of Business Cycles on Labour Market Assimilation of Immigrants

This study addresses the effects of macroeconomic conditions on the labour market outcomes of immigrants. It simultaneously identifies the separate effects of macro conditions at the time of entry to the labour market and at the time of the survey, while allowing for cohort effects. Also, for the first time in 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 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 subsequently. Macroeconomic conditions at the time of labour market entry have adverse impacts on both labour force participation and employment. With the inclusion of controls for macro conditions, the significance and magnitude of the coefficient measuring assimilation increases. Therefore, not only the estimated cohort effects bur also the assimilation profiles are sensitive to the inclusion of controls for business cycles.