The Effect of Home-country Gender Status on the Labor Market Success of Immigrants

Abstract

This article examines variation in the labor market success of female and male immigrants in the USA across different countries of origin. Labor market success is measured by the wages of immigrants, and the regression model includes the Gender Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), published by the United Nations, to reflect different cultural and institutional conditions that shape gender inequalities in the immigrants' home countries. The GEM reflects women's access to leadership positions and economic wealth, while the GDI indicates the basic living standard of women. According to the regression results, the GEM and the GDI have different effects on women and men. The GEM has a positive effect on the wages of both female and male immigrants, but it has a greater effect on women than men. The GDI has a positive effect on male immigrants but it has a small negative effect on female immigrants. In this sense, this study provides evidence of different effects of various cultural backgrounds on an individual's earning capability and different institutional effects between women and men.