Better migrants, better PISA results: Findings from a natural experiment

Maria Cattaneo () and Stefan Wolter

IZA Journal of Migration and Development, 2015, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Switzerland changed its migration policy in the 1990s from a “non-qualified only” policy to one of almost free movement of labor. To analyze the impact of this policy change on the schooling outcomes of children of first-generation migrants, the paper compares the PISA results of first-generation pupils in 2000 with the scores of children tested in 2009, whose parents immigrated after the policy changed. We find that around 75% of the 40-point increase in the PISA score of first-generation immigrant students was due to changes in the individual background characteristics of their parents and to improved school composition. Copyright Cattaneo and Wolter. 2015

Keywords: I21; I24; J15; Migration; PISA; Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition; Natural experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1186/s40176-015-0042-y

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