TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Pineda-Hernández, Kevin
AU  - Rycx, François
AU  - Senterre, Thomas
AU  - Volral, Mélanie
        TI  - Immigrant-Native Wage Gaps over Two Generations: Does the Field of Study Matter?
        PY  - 2026/Jun/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18728
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18728
        AB  - Although educational attainment is known to moderate immigrant-native wage gaps, the role of the field of study remains largely unexplored. Drawing on detailed data for master's graduates in Belgium (1999-2016), we show that the immigrant-native wage gap narrows over two generations but persists in higher-paying fields (STEM, LEM), while disappearing in lower-paying ones. Wage decompositions reveal a small positive quantity effect (immigrants favour higher-paying fields), outweighed by a negative price effect (as returns to fields are lower for immigrants). This price effect halves across generations. Together, both effects explain 28-37% of the overall pay gap. Sensitivity tests refine these findings.
        KW  - immigrant-native wage gap
KW  - first- and second-generation immigrants
KW  - field of study
KW  - matched employer-employee data
        ER  -