On‐the‐Job Training, Immigration Reform, and the True Wages of Native Male Workers

Abstract

This study measures the Immigration Reform and Control Act's (IRCA) impact on the “true” earnings of native workers. True earnings include observed wages and compensation received in the form of on‐the‐job training (OJT). Using 1983–1992 NLSY data, we present evidence suggesting IRCA reduced the true wages of male natives most likely to be mistaken as unauthorized. Our findings suggest that Mexican Americans suffered the largest decline in post‐IRCA OJT. It appears then that antidiscrimination policies following recent immigration reform have not fully protected some U.S. natives against unintended IRCA‐related employment discrimination.