Occupational Transition and Country-of-Origin Effects in the Early Stage Occupational Assimilation of Immigrants: Some Evidence from Australia

Weiping Kostenko, Mark Harris and Xueyan Zhao

Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series from Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne

Abstract: We examine the occupational attainment of recent immigrants at two years post migration in order to study their early stage assimilation into the labour market in Australia. Human capital endowments and country-of-origin effects are examined for six occupational groups (including unemployment). We also study transitions across occupations from source to host country. The empirical approach utilises the Ordered Generalised Extreme Value model which embodies differing utility functions across occupational outcomes, as well as accounting for any ordering in these outcomes. The results suggest that the transferability of knowledge and skills is affected by cultural and social backgrounds, and that non-Western immigrants are disproportionately channelled into inferior jobs post migration. The investigation of the country-of-origin effect on the skilled migrants' occupational transition process is especially apt in the context of skill shortages in many host countries.

Keywords: Immigrant; occupational assimilation; ordered discrete data; ordered generalised extreme value model; labour market outcomes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2009-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-mig
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Related works:
Journal Article: Occupational transition and country-of-origin effects in the early stage occupational assimilation of immigrants: some evidence from Australia (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2009n20

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