Immigrants' selectivity and their socio-economic outcomes in the destination country : the Italian case

Abstract

We use a multiple-origins single destination design to understand how the premigration socio-economic status (SES) and immigrants' selectivity affect their labour market outcomes and the educational success of their offspring in Italy. Premigration SES is measured using socio-economic status in the country of origin. The degree of immigrants' selectivity on unobserved characteristics (e.g., ability and motivations) is proxied by an indicator of relative education, measured as the individual's relative position in the age/gender-specific distribution of educational qualifications in the country of origin. The analysis is conducted using logistic and ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regression models applied to high-quality data from the 2011–2012 ISTAT Survey on ‘Social condition and integration of foreign citizens’. Results indicate that relative education increases the risk of being unemployed, especially for migrants who recently arrived in Italy, and it does affect SES attained in the destination country, but only among tertiary-educated individuals. Furthermore, it affects the educational integration of immigrants' offspring by reducing the risk of early school leaving.