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Article
Publication date: 29 April 2021

Cihan Aydiner and Erin Rider

This study aims to clarify the labor market participation of highly educated Turks who moved or were exiled to the Western countries after the July 15th, 2016 Coup attempt in…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to clarify the labor market participation of highly educated Turks who moved or were exiled to the Western countries after the July 15th, 2016 Coup attempt in Turkey. These recent Turkish flows create a compelling case for researching higher education connections and the administration of justice in migration policies/practices related to highly educated people's job market participation. This study aims to expand the discussion on migration policies, practices, job market participation, how highly skilled migrants perceive them in various contexts and understand the complexity of highly educated migrants' incorporation into destination countries and their perspectives and lived experiences with policy practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The primary source of the data is the semi-structured 30 interviews with the highly educated Turkish immigrants and refugees in Western countries, which enables comparative data from individuals of the same origin. The qualitative data have been transcribed, coded and analyzed according to the grounded-theory design from this vulnerable community. The high education was determined as graduation from 4-years colleges, which was recognized by destination countries. Our methodological tools were driven by the obstacles to collect data from politically sensitive, forced, or exiled migrants.

Findings

First, this article challenges the assumption that incorporating job market participation is a smooth process for highly educated migrants who moved to Western countries. Second, highly educated immigrants tried to reach their previous statuses and life standards as fast as possible by working hard, making sacrifices and developing innovative strategies. The immigrants in Europe have faced greater obstacles with policies while participating in the job market. Third, the importance of networking and the active usage of social media platforms to communicate with other immigrants in similar situations facilitated the job market participation and job preferences of highly educated migrants. Fourth, while fast job market participation experiences of immigrants in Northern America were increasing their positive feelings regarding belonging, people who have similar skillsets in Europe experienced more problems in this process and felt alone.

Research limitations/implications

The research results may lack generalizability due to the selected research approach. Further studies are encouraged to reach more population for each country to compare them.

Practical implications

Consequently, higher education may be a more vital decision point in migration policies and practices. This study contributes to a better understanding of these factors by showing the perspectives and experiences of highly educated migrants comparatively. Thus, it broadens the discussion about migration policies and job market participation of highly educated migrants.

Social implications

Building on this work, the authors suggest more studies on the temporary deskilling of highly educated migrants until they reach re-credentialing/education or training to gain their former status.

Originality/value

First, while most studies on immigrants' labor market participation and highly educated immigrants focus on voluntary migrants, this study examines underrepresented groups of involuntary migrants, namely forced migrants and exiled people, by focusing on non-Western Muslim highly educated Turks. Second, the trouble in the Middle East continues and regimes change softly or harshly. There is a growing tendency to examine these topics from the immigrants' perspective, especially from these war-torn areas. This article adds to this discussion by stating that rather than forced migration due to armed conflict, the immigrants from Turkey – the non-Arab Muslim state of the Middle East – are related to political conditions. Lastly, drawing on the relationship between social change in the origin country and migration and addressing the lack of reliable and comparative data, this study focuses on same origin immigrants comparatively in eight different countries.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 42 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2007

Parvinder Kler

To investigate the extent of over‐education for recently arrived tertiary educated male immigrants in order to ascertain if higher educated immigrants face assimilation hurdles in…

3201

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the extent of over‐education for recently arrived tertiary educated male immigrants in order to ascertain if higher educated immigrants face assimilation hurdles in the Australian labour market.

Design/methodology/approach

Using immigrant longitudinal data (LSIA), this paper uses the job analysis/objective method of defining over‐education. Also, bivariate probits are used to account for selectivity into employment when studying the determinants of graduate over‐education. The over, required and under‐education (ORU) earnings function is utilised to find the rates of return to education investment.

Findings

It is found that English speaking background (ESB) immigrants to have similar rates of over‐education compared to the native born, while only Asian non‐English speaking background (NESB) immigrants see a rise in over‐education after tighter immigration and welfare policies were introduced. Returns to required schooling are substantial, but the penalty for excess years of schooling is large, though consistent with the stylised facts of over‐education.

Research limitations/implications

Short time‐frame (up to five years) only allows for an investigation of initial assimilation.

Originality/value

Using panel data, this paper is the first to study the initial phase of highly educated immigrant assimilation into the Australian labour market from the viewpoint of job matching rather than just employment.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 34 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 August 2013

Kent E. Neupert and C. Christopher Baughn

The purpose of this paper is to provide a country‐level consideration of the relationship between entrepreneurship, immigration and education. In contrast to studies that report…

2665

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a country‐level consideration of the relationship between entrepreneurship, immigration and education. In contrast to studies that report on immigration and entrepreneurship in a region or single country, the authors seek to determine whether levels of immigration, and the level of education obtained by the immigrants, are predictive of levels of entrepreneurship activity. A common set of variables and data from developed countries are used to test the hypothesized relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Using data on 21 OECD countries and five measures of entrepreneurship from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project, the authors assess the significance of immigration and education level on entrepreneurial activity using regression analysis.

Findings

The stock of immigrants in a country was found to be predictive of the proportion of that country's population involved in starting and managing a new business (early stage entrepreneurship), as well as the growth expectations held by those early‐stage entrepreneurs. Also, levels of high growth and high growth expectation entrepreneurship were predicted by the proportion of more highlyeducated immigrants.

Originality/value

This study provides national‐level comparative evidence linking entrepreneurial activity to immigration and to the level of education obtained by those immigrants, thereby adding to our understanding of immigration, education and entrepreneurship. The results have implications for the immigration policies of countries seeking to add to their economic base by encouraging entrepreneurship and job creation.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 February 2022

Jie Yang, Mingchuan Yu, Jintong Tang and Jieqiong Ma

There is a dearth of research on how immigrants' cognitive attributes influence their willingness to be self-employed. To offset this paucity, the current study draws on the…

Abstract

Purpose

There is a dearth of research on how immigrants' cognitive attributes influence their willingness to be self-employed. To offset this paucity, the current study draws on the insights of social cognitive theory (SCT) to examine the immigrants' entrepreneurial alertness.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors hired Qualtrics to recruit educated, working immigrants in the USA and tested the hypotheses using a sample of 555 highly educated, employed immigrants from 92 home countries.

Findings

This study finds that immigrants' cognitive cultural intelligence (CQ) contributes to entrepreneurial alertness in a positive way. In addition, immigrants' perceived environmental differences and global identity positively moderate the relationship between cognitive CQ and entrepreneurial alertness.

Originality/value

This research provides a clear picture of how cognitive CQ impacts immigrants' entrepreneurial alertness; thus, the findings of this study offer ample implications for policymakers. By applying SCT, the current study extended research on immigrants' entrepreneurial alertness by shifting the focus from their individual (e.g. demographic background) or family characteristics to their cognitive attributes. This study suggests that policymakers and entrepreneurship education programs in the U.S.A. should consider offering various types of cultural training programs.

Details

Cross Cultural & Strategic Management, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2059-5794

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2021

Nastaran Simarasl, Kaveh Moghaddam and David W. Williams

The purpose of this paper is to investigate aspiring immigrant opportunity (AIO) entrepreneurs' start-up location decisions.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate aspiring immigrant opportunity (AIO) entrepreneurs' start-up location decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used conjoint analysis to explore 1,264 location decisions nested within 79 highly educated, first-generation AIO entrepreneurs.

Findings

The authors found that although government support positively influences business location decisions, network support decreases the perceived benefits of government support for AIO entrepreneurs. Furthermore, locations with high costs of doing business are unattractive to AIO entrepreneurs, but financial capital access through ethnic and nonethnic sources in these locations enhances the appeal of high-cost locations.

Research limitations/implications

The generalizability of the findings to AIO entrepreneurs should be considered with caution. Future research should longitudinally examine immigrant opportunity entrepreneurs' location decisions and their implications for their start-up and community-level performance outcomes. The authors also encourage replication of the study.

Practical implications

The findings of this study have implications for AIO entrepreneurs who intend to make start-up location decisions. Also, government policymakers can use the findings of this study to better attract AIO entrepreneurs to different locations.

Originality/value

By integrating ethnic enclave theory and location theory, this research contributes to theory and practice about immigrant opportunity entrepreneurs' start-up location decisions which are currently underexplored in the immigrant entrepreneurship literature.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 28 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2020

Jagat Kunwar

The continued flow of immigrants in various countries, including Finland, has made it necessary to assess their level of integration for both academic and policy reasons. Despite…

Abstract

The continued flow of immigrants in various countries, including Finland, has made it necessary to assess their level of integration for both academic and policy reasons. Despite the proliferation of multiple immigration integration indices, none of them are irreproachable. The indicators of integration levels are context-dependent. The index should also be both standardized to facilitate cross-comparative research and flexible to be relevant across multiple contexts. The choice of the unit of analysis also alters the definition of integration.

The main purpose of this study is to identify the indicators of immigration integration levels at the individual level in the Finnish context. Thereafter, a combined index identifying six types of integration measures – psychological, linguistic, economic, political, social and navigational – based on the Immigration Policy Lab (IPL) Integration Index, is administered to foreigners in Finland (N = 86). The sample consists of young (20–40), highly educated individuals, from 36 different countries who have migrated to Finland predominantly for family and study purposes.

The results show that immigrants who have stayed longer in Finland and are highly educated display higher levels of integration. Immigrants who are naturalized citizens display higher levels of integration across all dimensions. IPL Integration Index performs in the expected direction and can be applied across Finland in a larger random sample, after slight modifications, to increase generalizability. The study further suggests that Finnish immigration integration schemes focus excessively on macrolevel policies aiming at linguistic, economic and navigational integration of new immigrants at the cost of individual psychosocial integration of well-established immigrants.

Details

Integration of Migrants into the Labour Market in Europe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-904-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 June 2005

Evangelia Tastsoglou and Baukje Miedema

This chapter provides a qualitative analysis of 40 immigrant women's labor force experiences in the Maritime provinces of Canada (the Maritimes). The framework of analysis is…

Abstract

This chapter provides a qualitative analysis of 40 immigrant women's labor force experiences in the Maritime provinces of Canada (the Maritimes). The framework of analysis is feminist and anti-racist and the point of departure is the immigrant women's own perspective. Immigrant women feel marginalized in the labor markets of the Maritimes, despite their qualifications, past work experience and willingness to work, as a result of specific systemic barriers they face in employment. Some of these barriers affect immigrant men or native-born women as well. Immigrant women, however, are affected, in addition, by the multiple and mutually reinforcing interactions of these barriers. In this chapter we examine immigrant women's strategies to overcome the systemic obstacles of the labor market.

Details

Gender Realities: Local and Global
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-214-6

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2024

Nadia Caidi, Saadia Muzaffar and Elizabeth Kalbfleisch

This pan-Canadian study examines the information practices of STEM-trained immigrant women to Canada as they navigate workfinding and workplace integration. Our study focuses on a…

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Abstract

Purpose

This pan-Canadian study examines the information practices of STEM-trained immigrant women to Canada as they navigate workfinding and workplace integration. Our study focuses on a population of highly skilled immigrant women from across Canada and uses an information practice lens to examine their lived experiences of migration and labour market integration. As highly trained STEM professionals in pursuit of employment, our participants have specific needs and challenges, and as we explore these, we consider the intersection of their information practices with government policies, settlement services and the hiring practices of STEM employers.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews with 74 immigrant women across 13 Canadian provinces and territories to understand the nature of their engagement with employment-seeking in STEM sectors. This article reports the findings related to the settlement and information experiences of the immigrant women as they navigate new information landscapes.

Findings

As immigrants, as women and as STEM professionals, the experiences of the 74 participants reflect both marginality and privilege. The reality of their intersectional identities is that these women may not be well-served by broader settlement resources targeting newcomers, but neither are the specific conventions of networking and job-seeking in the STEM sectors in Canada fully apparent or accessible to them. The findings also point to the broader systemic and contextual factors that participants have to navigate and that shape in a major way their workfinding journeys.

Originality/value

The findings of this pan-Canadian study have theoretical and practical implications for policy and research. Through interviews with these STEM professionals, we highlight the barriers and challenges of an under-studied category of migrants (the highly skilled and “desirable” type of immigrants). We provide a critical discussion of their settlement experiences and expose the idiosyncrasies of a system that claims to value skilled talent while structurally making it very difficult to deliver on its promises to recruit and retain highly qualified personnel. Our findings point to specific aspects of these skilled professionals’ experiences, as well as the broader systemic and contextual factors that shape their workfinding journey.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 January 2019

Maryna Tverdostup and Tiiu Paas

The purpose of this paper is to address the role of cognitive skills and extent of skill use at work in explaining the immigrant–native wage gap in Europe. The study targets…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the role of cognitive skills and extent of skill use at work in explaining the immigrant–native wage gap in Europe. The study targets immigrant–native disparities in literacy and numeracy cognitive skills, as important, yet not exhaustive factor behind immigrants’ wage penalty.

Design/methodology/approach

The research relies on the Program of International Assessment of Adult Competencies data for 15 European countries. The empirical analysis employs multivariate regression analysis and incorporates the full set of plausible values for each skill domain, to correctly measure cognitive skills. To estimate standard errors, the authors employ Jackknife replication methodology with 80 replication weights and final population weight.

Findings

The authors document that, on average, immigrants achieve substantially worse scores in literacy and numeracy test domains. Only highly educated immigrants tend to improve their skills over time in host countries. The results of wage gap analysis indicate that having cognitive skills, demographic profile and occupation category comparable to natives does not yield comparable wage rate. The remaining wage gap results from the systematic differences in skills application at work, as immigrants use their skills to lower extent, relative to natives.

Originality/value

The research employs a novel measure of productive human capital, which accounts for cognitive skills in literacy and numeracy domains, and frequencies of skill use at work. It allows to more precisely evaluate the immigrant–native disparity in human capital application and its reflection on the wage rate.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 28 March 2006

Michael Ben-Gad

I construct a set of dynamic macroeconomic models to analyze the effect of unskilled immigration on wage inequality. The immigrants or their descendants do not remain unskilled …

Abstract

I construct a set of dynamic macroeconomic models to analyze the effect of unskilled immigration on wage inequality. The immigrants or their descendants do not remain unskilled – over time they may approach or exceed the general level of educational attainment. In the baseline model, the economy's capital supply is determined endogenously by the savings behavior of infinite-lived dynasties, and I also consider models in which the supply of capital is perfectly elastic, or exogenously determined. I derive a simple formula that determines the time discounted value of the skill premium enjoyed by college-educated workers following a change in the rate of immigration for unskilled workers, or a change in the degree or rate at which unskilled immigrants become skilled. I compare the calculations of the skill premiums to data from the US Current Population Survey to determine the long-run effect of different immigrant groups on wage inequality in the United States.

Details

The Economics of Immigration and Social Diversity
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-390-7

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