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Comparing Outcomes: The Relative Job-Market Performance of Former International Students

Author

Listed:
  • Mikal Skuterud

    (University of Waterloo)

  • Zong Jia Chen

    (University of Waterloo)

Abstract
Canada is increasingly looking to international students as a source of post-secondary tuition revenues and new immigrants. We compare the labour-market performance of former international students (FISs) who studied at Canadian institutions through the first decade of the 2000s to their Canadian born-andeducated (CBE), as well as to their foreign born-and-educated (FBE) counterparts. We find FISs outperform FBE immigrants by a substantial margin, but underperform CBE graduates from similar post-secondary programs. We also find evidence of a deterioration in FIS outcomes relative to both comparison groups. The contribution of our analysis is threefold. First, in comparing FIS and FBE immigrants, we obtain evidence that giving preference to Canadian-educated applicants in the Express Entry immigration system is optimal. Second, in comparing FISs with CBE individuals graduating from similar academic programs, the results are consistent with FISs experiencing job search frictions, discrimination, and language difficulties, thereby requiring better immigrant settlement policies. Finally, with three cohorts of FISs spanning the first decade of the 2000s, we find that there has been a deterioration in the labour-market performance of FISs as post-secondary institutions and governments have reached deeper into foreign student pools to meet their student and immigration demands. We argue that this deterioration is most consistent with a trade-off that has occurred, as the quality and supply of international students has not kept pace with the growth in demand. As Canada moves to increase its reliance on international students, monitoring the relative labour-market performance of FISs is critical

Suggested Citation

  • Mikal Skuterud & Zong Jia Chen, 2018. "Comparing Outcomes: The Relative Job-Market Performance of Former International Students," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 518, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:cdh:commen:518
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Parisa Mahboubi, 2017. "The Power of Words: Improving Immigrants’ Literacy Skills," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 486, August.
    2. Chen, Zong Jia & Skuterud, Mikal, 2017. "The relative labour market performance of former international students: Evidence from the Canadian National Graduates Survey," CLEF Working Paper Series 11, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    3. Mikal Skuterud & Mingcui Su, 2012. "The influence of measurement error and unobserved heterogeneity in estimating immigrant returns to foreign and host-country sources of human capital," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 1109-1141, December.
    4. Chen, Zong Jia & Skuterud, Mikal, 2017. "The Relative Labour Market Performance of Former International Students: Evidence from the Canadian National Graduates Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 10699, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Arthur Sweetman & Casey Warman, 2014. "Former Temporary Foreign Workers and International Students as Sources of Permanent Immigration," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 40(4), pages 392-407, December.
    6. Hou, Feng & Picot, Garnett & Bonikowska, Aneta, 2015. "Which Human Capital Characteristics Best Predict the Earnings of Economic Immigrants?," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2015368e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    7. Philip Oreopoulos, 2011. "Why Do Skilled Immigrants Struggle in the Labor Market? A Field Experiment with Thirteen Thousand Resumes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 148-171, November.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Demographics and Immigration; Immigration Policy and Outcomes;

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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