Benefit or Burden? Social Capital, Gender, and the Economic Adaptation of Refugees

This paper examines the role of co-ethnic social capital on the earnings of refugees, using a unique data set for adult refugees who resettled in Portland, Maine, between 1998 and 2004. Multiple regression models test the effect of access to co-ethnic social capital on the log earnings of refugees in their first and most recent years of work. Results show that over time access to co-ethnic social capital upon arrival decreased earnings for female refugees. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for social capital and immigration research.