ABOUT
I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Economics at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. My primary research interests lie in the fields of labor and development economics. I will be presenting my job market paper at Southern Economic Association Meeting (session 1.C.32) on Saturday, November 19, 2016 and will be available for interviews in the following conferences this year:
- APPAM 2016: Washington D.C., November 3-5, 2016
- SEA 2016: Washington D.C., November 19-21, 2016
- ASSA 2017: Chicago, January 6-8, 2017
Contact Information
- Department of Economics, UNC Chapel Hill, 107 Gardner Hall CB 3305, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
- apoorvaj.unc.@gmail.com
- 919-260-2678
RESEARCH
Timing of Migration, Immigrant Quality and Labor Market Assimilation: Evidence from a Long Panel in Germany (pdf)
This study shows that it is important when estimating immigrants' rate of economic assimilation to account for the timing of migration. The length of stay in the host country, which in the existing literature is commonly assumed to be exogenous, depends on the timing of migration. The optimum timing of migration is based on net expected lifetime earnings, and, thus, the length of stay also is endogenously determined. This paper models and estimates jointly the timing of migration and wage assimilation equations, which is a first in the literature. From German Socio-Economic Panel data that dates from 1984 to 2014, I estimate the individual-specific rate of assimilation while accounting for unobserved immigrant quality and an unobserved propensity to migrate early. Estimates from the joint model reveal four key findings. First, the average rate of assimilation estimated under the exogeneity assumption is biased upwards. Second, the average rate of assimilation hides significant variation in assimilation rates among immigrants who are of different quality. Third, immigrants of low quality have a faster rate of assimilation than their high quality counterparts. Fourth, immigrants who have a high propensity to migrate early have a higher individual-specific rate of assimilation. The joint model allows me to find the interdependence between the timing of migration and the labor market assimilation of immigrants - mechanisms that until now had been assumed in the literature to be independent.
Wage Divergence: Why Does the Gap between Natives and Immigrants Get Bigger? (with Klara S. Peter)
This study examines the evolution of immigrant and native earnings in Germany from 1984 to 2014. We find that the longer immigrants stayed in Germany the more their earnings increased, yet a substantial earnings gap persisted between immigrants and natives. To analyze this empirical evidence, we incorporate into the standard two-period model of economic assimilation the possibility of wage divergence, and accomplish this by modeling the differences between immigrants and natives in the technology of human capital production and in prices per unit of human capital. The empirical model examines how the main factors of assimilation, which are derived from the theoretical model, affect the 5-year absolute and relative wage growth of immigrants. We find that an increase in the per capita GDP in the country of origin, GDP growth in the host country, linguistic distance, and established old immigrant networks positively influence individual growth rates. Taking advantage of the rich spell data in GSOEP, we differentiate between pre- and post-migration human capital. Furthermore, we instrument for the endogenous post-migration human capital using supply shifters in government-sponsored training programs. The findings suggest that an immigrant's rate of wage convergence increases with post-migration job training but is unaffected by post-migration formal schooling. Hence, the empirical analysis suggests that, in addition to the usual language training courses, effective integration programs should emphasize practical job training programs. The paper also addresses the commonly ignored sample selection issue caused by non-random survey attrition and employment participation.
Old Questions, New Country: Labor Market Assimilation of Immigrants in Russia.
The paper revisits the questions of labor market assimilation of immigrants but for an unexplored country, Russia. I use immigrant data in Russian Longitudinal Monitored Survey from 1994-2011 and estimate the individual rates of economic assimilation using the joint model of timing of migration and wage assimilation. This project will be the first study of the economic assimilation of immigrants in Russia. The Russian Federation has one of the world’s largest stocks of immigrants, and its immigrant population has a unique composition. After the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia experienced an influx of immigrants, and it continues to receive a large number of immigrants from former Soviet states. These immigrants, for the most part, are linguistically, ethnically, and culturally similar to Russian natives. Interestingly, my results resemble those estimated for Germany (in my job market paper), although in each case there is a different mix of immigrants and different immigration policies. Again, individual rates of assimilation vary significantly and they are inversely correlated with immigrant quality. These results externally validate the results of my study of German immigrants.
