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Recent Immigration to Canada and the United States: A Mixed Tale of Relative Selection

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  • Neeraj Kaushal
  • Yao Lu

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="imre12093-abs-0001"> Using large-scale census data and adjusting for sending-country fixed effect to account for changing composition of immigrants, we study relative immigrant selection to Canada and the U.S. during 1990–2006, a period characterized by diverging immigration policies in the two countries. Results show a gradual change in selection patterns in educational attainment and host-country language proficiency in favor of Canada as its post-1990 immigration policy allocated more points to the human capital of new entrants. Specifically, in 1990, new immigrants in Canada were less likely to have a B.A. degree than those in the U.S.; they were also less likely to have a highschool or lower education. By 2006, Canada surpassed the U.S. in drawing highly educated immigrants, while continuing to attract fewer low-educated immigrants. Canada also improved its edge over the U.S. in terms of host-country language proficiency of new immigrants. Entry-level earnings, however, do not reflect the same trend: Recent immigrants to Canada have experienced a wage disadvantage compared to recent immigrants to the U.S., as well as Canadian natives. One plausible explanation is that while the Canadian points system has successfully attracted more educated immigrants, it may not be effective in capturing productivity-related traits that are not easily measurable.

Suggested Citation

  • Neeraj Kaushal & Yao Lu, 2015. "Recent Immigration to Canada and the United States: A Mixed Tale of Relative Selection," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 479-522, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:intmig:v:49:y:2015:i:2:p:479-522
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/imre.2015.49.issue-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Ameed Saabneh & Rebbeca Tesfai, 2021. "Does Immigrant Selection Policy Matter? Labor Market Integration of Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel and the United States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 40(5), pages 955-985, October.
    2. Hanson, Gordon & Liu, Chen, 2023. "Immigration and occupational comparative advantage," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Junyi Wang & Derek T. Robinson, 2023. "Assessing the Relative and Combined Effects of Network, Demographic, and Suitability Patterns on Retail Store Sales," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, February.

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