Understanding the Native-Immigrant Wage Gap Using Matched Employer-Employee Data. Evidence from Germany

Hellerstein and Neumark (1999) developed a straightforward method to detect wage discrimination using matched employer-employee data. In this paper a new method to measure wage discrimination is proposed, that builds on the ideas first developed by Hellerstein and Neumark. It has four main advantages: it is robust to labor market segregation, it does not impose linearity on the wage setting equation, it avoids the problematic estimation of production functions, and it is not only a test for discrimination but also produces measures of discrimination. Using matched employer-employee data from Germany, I find that immigrants are being discriminated against. They receive wages which are 13 percent lower than native workers in the same firm.