NASP/GSSPS International and Interdisciplinary Seminars

Keynote speaker: Irena Kogan (University of Mannheim)
 
27th March 2015, h: 14,30 Room A, via Pace 10
"Education systems and migrant-specific labour market returns"

Abstract:
Labour market integration problems among immigrants have been repeatedly associated with the underutilization and the lack of transferability of immigrants’ skills and educational credentials. Current study explores the role of host country acquisition and recognition of education for immigrants’ labour market success. I test whether immigrants who can provide information on the value of their credentials in form of official certificates of recognition or who are in a possession of host country education and training enjoy benefits of higher-status employment. The focus of the study is, however, primarily on the cross-national differences in the effects of recognized or host country specific education for immigrants’ occupational standing. It is expected that the labour market value of education will differ across immigrant accepting countries, depending on the strength of the link between education and occupation. Returns to recognized education as well as host-country education among immigrants should be larger in countries with more vocationally/occupationally oriented education systems as compared to countries in which education is of more general character. With some nuances, the results are largely supported by the data from the 2008 EULFS ad hoc module on the labour market situation of migrants.  Higher returns to host-country specific and recognized education among immigrants are found at the upper-secondary and tertiary levels of education in countries with stronger vocational orientation.