Explaining the Refugee Gap: Economic Outcomes of Refugees versus Other Immigrants

It is often assumed that refugees in the US are at an economic disadvantage compared to other immigrants. A number of hypotheses have been postulated to explain this ‘refugee gap’. Refugees, on average, have less English language ability, less educational experience, different forms of family support, poorer mental and physical health, and generally reside in more disadvantaged neighbourhoods than other immigrants. Although these factors are well supported by evidence for specific refugee groups, a lack of representative data for both refugee and non-refugee migrants has made the testing of this refugee gap challenging. Using the first wave of the New Immigrant Survey, these hypotheses are tested on employment, occupation, and earnings outcomes using multivariate modelling techniques among recent immigrants in the United States. Findings demonstrate that accounting for each of the aforementioned explanatory factors minimizes the earnings and occupational differences between refugees and all other immigrants. Despite the inclusion of these factors within the model, however, a refugee disparity in earnings and occupational attainment continues to exist.