Interaction of Nativity and Background Variables: Earnings of Foreign-born Doctoral Engineers in the United States

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Abstract

Foreign-born scientists and engineers who received their doctoral degrees in the U.S. make significant contributions to their fields in the U.S. However, not much research is done on their career outcomes. This paper employs the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) 2008 from the National Science Foundation to examine the earnings of foreign-born doctoral engineers relative to their U.S.-born counterparts in academia, industry, and government. Regression results reveal the negative effect of foreign nativity in all three sectors, but when background variables (demographic, educational, and employment variables) are added into the models, the nativity effect is no longer significant. More importantly, this paper examines the interaction effects of nativity and the background variables to understand under what circumstances nativity affects earnings. Tests of marginal effects show that uniquely in academia, the foreign-born earn less than their native-born counterparts only among those whose rank is other than assistant, associate, or full professor. Also in academia, the foreign-born earn less than their native-born counterparts in the first 6 years after receiving their doctorates but then more in 28-49 years. The interaction effect of nativity and experience is also found in industry, where the foreign-born earn less only in the first 8 years. In government, foreign-born engineers earn less than their native-born counterparts among women but not among men. The findings in this paper provide new insight of the nativity effect, interaction effects of background variables with nativity, and differences in these effects by employment sector among a highly educated and selected group.

Authors

• Yu Tao, Stevens Institute of Technology

• Daniel Alejandro Jacome, Stevens Institute of Technology