Wage Assimilation of Immigrants in Spain

Abstract

In this study we quantify the effect of the years of residence in Spain on the earnings of immigrants. We take sex, origin, education and age into account. The results are clearly positive, the longer the length of residence the more earnings, confirming the hypothesis of wage assimilation of immigrants as their human capital is adapted to the Spanish labor market. The information used comes from the Social Security’s Continuous Sample of Working Lives 2007. Additionally, we merge the earnings data from this source with the National Survey of Immigrants 2007 to obtain additional integration indicators, such as speaking fluently Spanish, validation of studies in Spain, studies finished in Spain. All of them increase the earnings of immigrants. We detail this results by sex and origin (Europe, Latin-America and Rest of the World).immigration, wage assimilation, wages, human capital, merging of databases