Abstract

This paper examines the labor market experience of Japanese natives and immigrants in California in 1990.  It finds Japanese (U.S. born) natives earn 5.8 percent more than White natives, with 5.4 percent explained by the difference in average levels of human capital.  It also finds Japanese immigrants earn 12.1 percent more than White natives, with 7.5 percent similarly explained.  The high levels of education possessed by Japanese seem largely responsible for their comparatively high average wages.  However, among native workers with MA, Professional, and Ph.D. degrees, Japanese earn less than similarly educated Whites.  The distribution of Japanese across occupations and industries does not seem to explain much of the Japanese-White wage differential.  A weak negative correlation exists between relative wage and relative employment of Japanese across occupations, and a weak positive correlation exists across industries.  In California, as in the U.S. overall, the most distinctive labor market feature of Japanese natives and immigrants is their relatively high level of measured human capital.

JEL Classification Codes:
   J71 - Discrimination
   J3 - Wages, Compensation and Labor Costs

Key Words:
   Wage Differential
   Japanese-American
   PUMS (public use micro-sample data from the U.S. Population Census)
   Discrimination

Outline:
I.    Introduction - Labor Market Experience of Japanese and Asians
II.   Race, Ancestry, and Wage Differentials
III.  Empirical Overview of Japanese and Asians in California
IV.  Regression Analysis
V.  Wages and Employment Across Occupations and Industries
VI.  Conclusion