Black Immigrants to the United States: A Comparison with Native Blacks and Other Immigrants

Abstract

Immigrant blacks have largely been ignored, both in discussions about racial discrimination and about the assimilation of immigrants. In analyzing immigrant blacks, Sowell (1978) claims to have evidence that it is not discrimination that is responsible for the poor labor market success of native blacks, but rather their "cultural traditions." Using the 1980 Census, I find that while immigrant blacks are more likely to be employed, their wages are not different conditional on employment. To the extent that there are differences, further investigation reveals that it is the selection processes associated with migration, and not cultural traditions which account for the differences between natives and immigrants. Finally, I find that black immigrants do not have similar "assimilation" patterns to white immigrants, and there is evidence that there has been a recent decline in the quality of the immigrant cohorts.