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The Quality of Immigrant Source Country Educational Outcomes: Do they Matter in the Receiving Country?

Author

Listed:
  • Qing Li

    (McMaster University)

  • Arthur Sweetman

    (McMaster University)

Abstract

International test scores are used to proxy the quality of source country educational outcomes and explain differences in the rate of return to schooling among immigrants in Canada. The average quality of educational outcomes in an immigrant’s source country and the rate of return to schooling in the host country labour market are found to have a strong and positive association. However, in contrast to those who completed their education pre-immigration, immigrants who arrived at a young age are not influenced by this educational quality measure. Also, the results are not much affected when the source country’s GDP per capita and other nation-level characteristics are used as control variables. Together, these observations reinforce the argument that the quality of educational outcomes has explanatory power for labour market outcomes. The effects are strongest for males and for females without children.

Suggested Citation

  • Qing Li & Arthur Sweetman, 2013. "The Quality of Immigrant Source Country Educational Outcomes: Do they Matter in the Receiving Country?," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1332, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    • Handle: RePEc:crm:wpaper:1332
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; Quality of Education; Earnings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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