Income Insurance in Canada: The Role of Immigrants

Abstract

In this paper, I replicate and update the work of Moore and Pacey (2003). Specifically, I examine the role of immigrants in changes in income inequality in Canada using the Census of Population for households for the 1990 to 2005 period. I find that recent immigrants experience the greatest level of inequality in the population compared to non-immigrants and longer-term immigrants. They contribute to the rise in income inequality, particularly in major cities such as Toronto and Vancouver where the concentration of immigrants is higher. My results also suggest that higher potential years of experience are linked to higher inequality levels for recent immigrants in Canada.