Abstract

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses in the United States were leaving the industry due to exhaustion, skill underutilization, and retirement. Despite this, the demand for nurses is predicted to grow by at least 5% in the next five years. To alleviate the pressures of a crumbling nursing sector, the US is increasingly recruiting internationally educated registered nurses (IENs). In 2018, immigrants comprised 15.5% of the nursing employees. While IENs fulfil the US’s healthcare needs, they often face wage discrimination and unequal treatment at their workplace. We utilize data from the 2018 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) to examine the relationship between IENs and their hourly wages and job position. Accounting for age, sex, race, education, unionization, and employment setting, we find that IENs earn 10% lower in hourly wages compared to US educated nurses. Sex and race intensify this gap as female nurses earn 11.5% lower than male nurses, and the impact of being an IEN on hourly wages is 38% smaller for Hispanic nurses respectively, compared to white nurses. To determine how much of this wage gap can be explained by either productivity differences or discrimination, we employ Oaxaca decomposition, the results of which suggest that the gap is not statistically significant, but the two portions of the gap are. We find Asian nurses disproportionately spending more time in low-status, direct care tasks, which deprives them of promotional opportunities or suggest job position inequality. We contextualize our study in multiple theories of discrimination using quantitative analyses and primary interviews. The interviews reveal the lived discriminatory experiences of migrant nurses in the US.

Advisor

Moledina, Amyaz

Department

Economics

Disciplines

Economic Theory | Labor Economics | Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Keywords

nurses, migration, employment, global care chains, wages, promotions, discrimination, United States, NSSRN, Oaxaca decomposition

Publication Date

2022

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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