Immigration and inequality: Analysis of Mainland Chinese spouses during the early stages of their time in Taiwan

Abstract

In this study on Mainland Chinese women in Taiwan, I examined the effect of immigration‐related disruption on the assimilation of these women into the Taiwanese labour market during 2005–2015. Accordingly, I used a unique dataset obtained by linking three administrative registers to measure the assimilation process. In addition, I employed the nearest‐neighbour matching estimator to assess heterogeneous effects on each Mainland Chinese woman. The results indicated narrowing immigrant–native gaps in labour supply (full‐time employment rates) and real monthly insured wages for their first traceable job in favour of Mainland Chinese women. In general, I found that Mainland Chinese women assimilated into the Taiwanese workforce at levels comparable with those of Taiwanese women.