The Wage Premium of Foreign Education: New Evidence from Australia

Using data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia, we analyse if migrants' hourly earnings vary depending on where their education was attained. We find evidence of substantial variation in the returns from nominally equivalent qualifications obtained in different groups of countries. Bachelor degrees obtained in English-speaking countries are associated with higher returns than equivalent qualifications earned elsewhere. For higher degrees and for technical diplomas and certificates, we find evidence of higher hourly wages for degrees earned in English-speaking countries, but not in Australia or New Zealand and non-English-speaking countries. We discuss some policy implications of our results.