Abstract
This research compares the determinants of retirement savings asset ownership between the native-born and immigrants. Analysis of Survey of Income and Program Participation data indicate there do not appear to be differences in the likelihood of ownership between European or Asian immigrants and the native-born, but there are differences between Latin American immigrants and the native-born in retirement savings asset utilization. Distributional effects related to ethnic identity, income, and education appear to compound these differences. While factors indicating greater acculturation increase the likelihood of ownership for all immigrant groups, there are substantial differences in the way these variables affect ownership. General savings asset ownership is more affected by immigration, while retirement savings is more sensitive to acculturation and ethnic identity.
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Notes
Assumptions about the distribution of assets within the household may not hold for families from varying cultural backgrounds (Osili and Paulson 2006). Analyses using only the family head were conducted, with comparable results to those presented here.
The SIPP data for date of migration are by year of arrival, in 20 categories. These were reduced to six based on statistical similarity in the model.
Other immigrant groups are identified in the SIPP data, but sample sizes were too small for reliable analyses and were therefore not used in this analysis resulting in a less than 1% reduction in the number of observations.
Individual weights (SIPP variable WPFINWGT) are used to calculate descriptive statistics.
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Fontes, A. Differences in the Likelihood of Ownership of Retirement Saving Assets by the Foreign and Native-Born. J Fam Econ Iss 32, 612–624 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-011-9262-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-011-9262-3