It is well known that the earnings of recent cohorts of immigrant men have fallen further behind native-born men. Using several years of Canadian Census data, this study finds that immigrants have turned to self-employment at a much faster rate than the native-born. In addition, the earnings gap between self-employed immigrant and native-born men has not grown with successive cohorts, but rather has followed a cyclical movement: narrowing at the peak, and widening in times of weaker economic activity. However, immigrants choosing self-employment still face challenges, as their earnings are far below native-born earnings, and convergence is a lengthy process. © 2004 CEIS, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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Canada wage gap self employment migrants experience North America wage determination immigrant population