Segmented socioeconomic adaptation of New Eastern European professionals in the United States

Nina Michalikova

doi:10.1186/s40878-018-0077-3

Abstract

This study examines the socioeconomic adaptation of post-1991 Eastern European professionals in the United States. The data were obtained from the pooled 2006–2010 American Community Surveys. The analysis includes recent immigrants between ages of 25–65 who have at least an associate’s degree. Skilled immigrants in professional or managerial occupations are compared with non-professionals or managers to examine and compare socioeconomic outcomes. The findings presented in this study support the segmented assimilation theory and reveal cross-group and cross-country disparities in socioeconomic adaptation. Despite the high amount of human capital, Eastern European skilled immigrants tend to have a lower share of professionals and managers than other groups. Their average income is lower than the income of some other groups in the analysis, especially immigrants from Northern and Western Europe, suggesting these immigrants experience difficulties in transferring human capital. Among the three largest Eastern European groups – Russia, Ukraine, and Poland – there is a clear hierarchy in socioeconomic status with Russian professionals having the highest educational attainment and income, followed by immigrants from Ukraine and Poland. Results also revealed gender differences in socioeconomic adaptation. Women from Eastern Europe are highly professional, but they tend to be concentrated in different occupations than men, leading to a significant gender-wage gap. The effect of selected individual and country-level characteristics on skilled immigrants’ socioeconomic adaptation is discussed.

Highlights

In 2015, nearly one-third of foreign-born workers in the United States were employed in professional, management, or related occupations (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016)
Existing studies show that new Eastern European immigrants have similar educational attainment than immigrants from Western Europe and other developed countries (e.g., Canada, Australia, and Japan); Eastern European college degree holders have lower chance of obtaining a skilled occupation ranging between 35% for Polish immigrants and 55% for Hungarian immigrants (Mattoo, Neagu, & Özden, 2008)
Almost one in three Eastern European skilled workers is from Russia (30%), followed by Ukraine (18%) and Poland (14%), which is understandable as these countries tend to send the highest number of Eastern European immigrants

Summary

Introduction

In 2015, nearly one-third of foreign-born workers in the United States were employed in professional, management, or related occupations (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). Existing studies show that new Eastern European immigrants have similar educational attainment than immigrants from Western Europe and other developed countries (e.g., Canada, Australia, and Japan); Eastern European college degree holders have lower chance of obtaining a skilled occupation ranging between 35% for Polish immigrants and 55% for Hungarian immigrants (Mattoo, Neagu, & Özden, 2008). This suggests that Eastern Europeans tend to have a lower degree of skill transferability than immigrants from English-speaking countries and Japan (Chiswick & Taengnoi, 2007; Haley & Taengnoi, 2011)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion