The determinants of labour market earnings for Bulgarian migrants: Some micro-level evidence from Madrid, Spain

Abstract

This paper investigates the wage determination process in a migrant labour market using a unique survey conducted among legal and illegal Bulgarian immigrants in the city of Madrid in late 2003 and in the early months of 2004. The role of human capital, the time spent in Spain, language competence, and an individual’s legal status are empirically assessed.  In addition, the magnitude of the gender pay disparity within the migrant’s labour market is also computed.