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Chinese Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market: Effects of Post-Tiananmen Immigration Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Orrenius, Pia M.

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas)

  • Zavodny, Madeline

    (University of North Florida)

  • Kerr, Emily

    (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas)

Abstract
The Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and ensuing government crackdown affected Chinese nationals not only at home but around the world. The U.S. government responded to the events in China by enacting multiple measures to protect Chinese nationals present in the U.S. It first suspended all forced departures among Chinese nationals present in the country as of June 1989 and later gave them authorization to work legally. The Chinese Student Protection Act, passed in October 1992, made those Chinese nationals eligible for lawful permanent resident status. These actions applied to about 80,000 Chinese nationals residing in the U.S. on student or other temporary visas or illegally. Receiving permission to work legally and then a green card is likely to have affected recipients' labor market outcomes. This study uses 1990 and 2000 census data to examine employment and earnings among Chinese immigrants who were likely beneficiaries of the U.S. government's actions. Relative to immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea – countries not covered by the post-Tiananmen immigration policy measures – highly-educated immigrants from mainland China experienced significant employment and earnings gains during the 1990s. Chinese immigrants who arrived in the U.S in time to benefit from the measures also had higher relative earnings in 2000 than Chinese immigrants who arrived too late to benefit. The results suggest that getting legal work status and then a green card has a significant positive effect on skilled migrants' labor market outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Orrenius, Pia M. & Zavodny, Madeline & Kerr, Emily, 2012. "Chinese Immigrants in the U.S. Labor Market: Effects of Post-Tiananmen Immigration Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 6287, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6287
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Fasani, 2015. "Understanding the Role of Immigrants’ Legal Status: Evidence from Policy Experiments," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 61(3-4), pages 722-763.
    2. Mukhopadhyay, Sankar, 2018. "Comparing Wage Gains from Different Immigrant Legalization Programs," IZA Discussion Papers 11525, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Jamie Sharpe, 2020. "A Pathway To Homeownership? Evidence From The Immigration Reform And Control Act Of 1986," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 38(3), pages 435-447, July.
    4. Carlo Devillanova & Francesco Fasani & Tommaso Frattini, 2014. "Employment of Undocumented Immigrants and the Prospect of Legal Status: Evidence from an Amnesty Program," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1415, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    5. Bansak, Cynthia & Dziadula, Eva & Zavodny, Madeline, 2023. "The value of a green card in the U.S. marriage market: A tale of chain migration?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    6. John Bound & Murat Demirci & Gaurav Khanna & Sarah Turner, 2015. "Finishing Degrees and Finding Jobs: US Higher Education and the Flow of Foreign IT Workers," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 27-72.
    7. Altangerel, Khulan, 2019. "Essays on immigration policy," Other publications TiSEM 954c6300-249e-496c-8cef-0, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    8. Chi, Miao & Drewianka, Scott, 2014. "How much is a green card worth? Evidence from Mexican men who marry women born in the U.S," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 103-116.
    9. Lisa A Keister & Jody Agius Vallejo & Brian Aronson, 2016. "Chinese Immigrant Wealth: Heterogeneity in Adaptation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(12), pages 1-23, December.
    10. Francesco Fasani, 2015. "Understanding the Role of Immigrants’ Legal Status: Evidence from Policy Experiments," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 61(3-4), pages 722-763.
    11. Ying Liang & Yingying Yi & Qiufen Sun, 2014. "The Impact of Migration on Fertility under China’s Underlying Restrictions: A Comparative Study Between Permanent and Temporary Migrants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 307-326, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    employment; Chinese Student Protection Act; immigration; earnings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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