Economics
Foreign–native wage gap and tasks: Evidence from the Japanese labor market
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This paper provides novel empirical evidence on the foreign–native wage gap in the Japanese labor market, examining the role of tasks. By leveraging government micro-level data and the Japanese version of O*NET, we construct task scores à la Acemoglu and Autor (2011) at a detailed occupational level. We then estimate the foreign–native wage gap in the spirit of Mincer (1974). Unconditionally, foreign workers earn 27% less than native workers; 82% of this gap is explained by observable characteristics. Tasks account for roughly one-third of the remaining unexplained gap, suggesting that foreign workers are assigned to lower-wage tasks, typically manual and routine tasks. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.
Publication Title
Economics Letters
Publication Date
9-2025
Volume
255
ISSN
0165-1765
DOI
10.1016/j.econlet.2025.112571
Keywords
foreign–native wage gap, Japanese labor market, task-based approach
Repository Citation
Doi, Yasuhiro and Suzuki, Kensuke, "Foreign–native wage gap and tasks: Evidence from the Japanese labor market" (2025). Economics. 237.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_economics/237
