Notes

^1.

In 2000, census data indicate that 83% of the 'comparison group' as defined in this paper were Canadian born. The low-income rate was 13.2% among the Canadian born, 15.2% among immigrants in Canada 10 years or longer (that segment included in the comparison group) and 31.4% among those in Canada less than 10 years.

^2.

Age at landing, minus years of schooling, minus six.

^3.

This is a detrended annual unemployment rate among men aged 25 to 54. The regional breakdown includes the three largest census metropolitan areas (Toronto, Vancouver and Montréal) as well as provinces (outside the census metropolitan areas).

^4.

The detrended unemployment rates were based on annual unemployment rates among men aged from 25 to 54 in the three largest metropolitan areas or provinces.

^5.

To produce the hypothetical (i.e., counterfactual) distribution for 2000 holding the educational and immigrant class distributions fixed at the 1991 level, a new weight is calculated for each observation in the 2000 sample of recent immigrants. The weight for each observation is the ratio of the probability (for each observation) of being in the 1991 sample to the probability of being in the 2000 sample, conditional on the observed level of education and immigrant class. These probabilities (e.g., the probability of being in the 1991 or 2000 sample) are estimated using a logistic regression based on the pooled sample of all recent immigrants in 1991 and 2000. This exercise is carried out twice, once holding the education and immigrant class distributions fixed over the 1991-to-2000 period, and once holding all immigrant characteristics fixed (including language, source region, potential work experience, etc.). The results are reported in Table 5. As with all decomposition techniques, it is necessary to select a 'base' year and hold the composition constant at the levels observed in that base year. In Table 5, 1991 was selected as the base year, and a hypothetical earnings distribution produced for 2000 holding education and immigrant class distributions fixed at the 1991 level. If one selects 2000 as the base year and produces a hypothetical earnings distribution for 1991 holding immigrant class and education fixed at the 2000 level, the results are somewhat different, but the main findings hold. The increase in earnings associated with the changing characteristics are much greater at the top of the earnings distribution than at the bottom. The results are reported in Text table 5 (Appendix 1).

^6.

The independent variables include cohort, years since migration, years since migration interacted with cohort, education, immigrant class, family status, province or census metropolitan area, source region and intended occupation.

^7.

Note that education refers to the level at entry to Canada, and is not updated with years spent in Canada. Hence, the estimated returns over the first decade do not precisely refer to returns to, say, a bachelor's degree, because some portion (likely small) of the sample may have acquired a higher level of education during the first decade in Canada. But we are interested in the effect on earnings during the first few years in Canada of altering the educational attainment of immigrants at entry. Hence, this is the appropriate measure of education for our purposes.

^8.

Annual gross domestic product growth was an average 2.7%.

^9.

Includes manufacturing industries related to computer and communications equipment and service industries related to computer and communications (Bowlby and Langlois 2002).