Family poverty and the socioeconomic attainments of youths of immigrants

While interest in the consequences of childhood poverty is longstanding, quantitative research on the attainment of children of poor immigrants is limited. This study focuses on the shorter- and longer-term consequences of poverty for the employment outcomes of the youths of immigrants in Canada using data from the Youth in Transition Survey Cohort A, a longitudinal survey of high school students aged 15 in 2000. The analysis finds growing up in poor families reduces the probability of employment during the school year for the youths of immigrants as well as non-immigrants. Such negative impacts of family poverty exist, independent of parental human capital, for the youths of immigrants but do not persist for a longer period. Moreover, while poverty has a greater negative impact on the employment of youths of immigrants than their non-immigrant counterparts, the negative impact of poverty diminishes once their migration-related characteristics are adjusted. Further, once employed, the youths of poor immigrants work longer hours and more intensely than their non-poor counterparts. These findings suggest poverty during adolescence influences the employment outcomes of youths of immigrants in a complex way, which underscores the importance of focusing on this select population.