Who succeeds as an immigrant? Effects of ethnic community resources and external conditions on earnings attainment

Previous studies about contextual effects on immigrant economic attainment have generally relied on information from detailed case studies. Focusing simultaneously on characteristics of immigrant groups and the receiving society, these studies produced insightful but strikingly different accounts of the dimensions of the context that affect economic attainment. Responding to this limitation, this paper constructs a comprehensive model of effects of contextual factors on immigrant earnings attainment using 2000 US Census data on all immigrant groups. The paper employs multilevel modeling in studying the effects of both ethnic community resources and external conditions on earnings attainment. Results indicate that both ethnic community resources and external conditions are dominant in shaping earnings attainment by immigrants. Especially important are group resource advantage and the economic conditions at the local labor market.