This study examines the economic progress of foreign-born men in the United States. Europeans entered the United States with relatively high wages and earned wages comparable to natives over their life course. Japanese, Korean, and Chinese men entered with lower wages but quickly caught up with U.S.-born workers. Mexicans and Central Americans entered with low wages, and the wage gap between themselves and U.S.-born workers has not shrunk. Disparities in completed years of education and whether education was received in the United States can explain a large share of the differences in the level of wages. For immigrants from some countries, it is found that more highly educated men assimilate more quickly. The rate of economic progress has not improved for more recent arrivals from any country, but this is most problematic among Mexicans and Central Americans because of their relatively low rates of wage growth.

Robert F. Schoeni is an economist at RAND Corporation. Kevin McCarthy and Georges Vernez contributed substantially to an earlier version of this study, and Becky Kilburn, Steve Trejo, and two referees provided valuable comments. Financial support was received from the Ford and James Irvine Foundations. The data used in this article can be obtained beginning April 1998 through April 2001 from Bob Schoeni, RAND, 1700 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407.