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A Comparative Analysis of the Labour Market Performance of University-Educated Immigrants in Australia, Canada, and the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Ana Ferrer

    (Department of Economics, University of Waterloo)

  • Mikal Skuterud

    (Department of Economics, University of Waterloo)

  • Andrew Clarke

    (Department of Economics, University of Melbourne)

Abstract

We examine data from Australia, Canada, and the U.S. to inform the potential for immigrant screening policies to influence the labour market performance of skilled immigrants. Our estimates point to improvements in employment rates and weekly earnings of male university‐educated immigrants in all three countries concomitant with policy reforms. Nonetheless, the gains are modest in comparison to a substantial and persistent performance advantage of U.S. skilled immigrants. Given that there is increasingly little to distinguish the skilled immigration policies of these countries, we interpret the U.S. advantage as primarily reflecting the relative positive selectivity of U.S. immigrants

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Ferrer & Mikal Skuterud & Andrew Clarke, 2018. "A Comparative Analysis of the Labour Market Performance of University-Educated Immigrants in Australia, Canada, and the United States," Working Papers 1807, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised 02 Jan 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:wat:wpaper:1807
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Garnett Picot & Feng Hou, 2019. "Why do STEM immigrants do better in one country than another?," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 459-459, April.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies

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