The nativity wealth gap – a systematic review and meta-analysis

Mathis Herpell , German Institute for Economic Research (DIW)

The nativity wealth gap refers to the difference in wealth between immigrants and native-born populations. Evidence from multiple countries shows that immigrants generally possess less wealth than natives. Despite the growing interest in this topic, the scientific knowledge on this topic remains limited. In particular, there are differing conclusions of how nativity differences in wealth develop over the period of residence and it remains unclear if these differences stem from varying contexts or from varying methods. I conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize the results of existing quantitative studies and gain additional insights into the strength and persistence of the nativity wealth gap. Through a meta-regression I am also able to investigate the role of national and study contexts for the estimates. In theory, nativity wealth gaps could arise due to pre-migration differences carried over from the country of origin as well as disadvantaged socio-economic positions and discrimination post migration. While initial wealth gaps upon arrival may simply reflect patterns of global inequality, steady or widening disparities over a migrant’s stay in the destination country may suggest segmented assimilation and hinder integration. This meta-analysis not only sharpens our understanding of the nativity wealth gap and its development over the duration of residence but also illustrates reciprocal relevance of wealth and migration research.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 48. International Migration and Global Challenges