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Social Ties and the Job Search of Recent Immigrants

Author

Listed:
  • Deepti Goel

    (Delhi School of Economics)

  • Kevin Lang

    (Boston University and NBER, IZA)

Abstract
We show that increasing the probability of obtaining a job offer through the network should raise the observed mean wage in jobs found through formal (non-network) channels relative to that in jobs found through the network. This prediction also holds at all percentiles of the observed wage distribution, except the highest and lowest. The largest changes are likely to occur below the median. We test and confirm these implications using a survey of recent immigrants to Canada. We also develop a simple structural model, consistent with the theoretical model, and show that it can replicate the broad patterns in the data. For recent immigrants, our results are consistent with the primary effect of strong networks being to increase the arrival rate of offers rather than to alter the distribution from which offers are drawn.

Suggested Citation

  • Deepti Goel & Kevin Lang, 2010. "Social Ties and the Job Search of Recent Immigrants," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1022, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    • Handle: RePEc:crm:wpaper:1022
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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