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Does it matter if immigrants work in jobs related to their education?

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  • Jason Dean

    (Wilfrid Laurier University)

Abstract

A common finding throughout the Canadian immigration literature is that, despite having high levels of education, recent immigrants endure substantial earnings disadvantages upon arrival that persist throughout their working career. This paper investigates the role of “qualitative” education-job matches in explaining these poor labor market outcomes. Using a self-reported match measure, available in the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), the incidence and wage penalties associated with being mismatched are found to be higher among immigrants relative to Canadian-born workers. As a consequence, mismatches on the part of immigrants are a mechanism behind the immigrant wage disadvantages reported throughout the literature. Successful matching is also found to significantly improve the return to pre-migration education and work experience.

Suggested Citation

  • Jason Dean, 2018. "Does it matter if immigrants work in jobs related to their education?," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-42, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izamig:v:8:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1186_s40176-017-0114-2
    DOI: 10.1186/s40176-017-0114-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Kimberly Wong, 2020. "The Improved Labour Market Performance of New Immigrants to Canada, 2006-2019," CSLS Research Reports 2020-03, Centre for the Study of Living Standards.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigrants; Returns; Education; Experience; Job match;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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