Cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of immigrants: New perspectives on migrant quality from a selective immigration country

We study innate ability – a traditionally unobserved component of migrant quality – in Australia, one of the top six destination countries worldwide. We proxy innate ability with validated and widely used measures of non-cognitive (personality) and cognitive (task performance) skills. We find that both first- and second-generation immigrants consistently outperform Australian-born residents with no immediate migration background (natives) on socially beneficial personality traits (Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience) and cognitive ability measures associated with high levels of executive function (coding speed), independent of their gender. The migrant pool resulting from the phase in of a selective immigration policy since 1974 was significantly better educated and more diversified in terms of language background relative to earlier arrivals. Although this meant that the point system attracted migrants with poorer English-language skills relative to natives with equal educational attainment, it did not change their innate ability composition or labor market outcomes. We conclude that selecting migrants based on observable quality characteristics did not lead to a migrant pool of lower quality in traditionally unobservable characteristics in the Australian immigration context.