Abstract
Using data from the 2012 Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Survey of Living Conditions, this chapter examines whether immigrants have an employment and earnings advantage over their native-born counterparts. The study controls for heterogeneity within the immigrant population by specifying subgroups based on country of origin with the goal of identifying the sources of any labor market advantage. The results show that after controlling for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, there are persistent labor market advantages for those with “Belonger” status. The chapter also shows that in TCI, labor market rewards are not well aligned with skills or human capital accumulation. This result suggests a high degree of labor market segmentation and the possible existence of discriminatory practices in the labor market of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
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Notes
- 1.
Grand Turk (the capital), Salt Cay, South Caicos, Middle Caicos, North Caicos, and Providenciales.
- 2.
The NAT comprises both the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands and non-governmental organizations.
- 3.
A labor force survey was conducted in 2017 but the raw data are not publicly available.
- 4.
Dreamers were born outside the United States and migrated illegally as children.
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Peters, A.C. (2022). Employment and Earnings Disparity: A Comparison of “Belongers” and “Non-Belongers” in the Turks and Caicos Islands. In: Cannonier, C., Galloway Burke, M. (eds) Contemporary Issues Within Caribbean Economies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98865-4_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98865-4_6
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