Overview

Abstract (English)

This paper studies the characteristics of immigrants who are likely (or unlikely) to find a job matching their aspirations. Data are from the 2002 Survey of selected workers for a sample of 1,875 economic immigrants that were admitted in Quebec between January 1997 and June 2000. Our empirical results confirm standard findings in the literature on immigration about the limited international transferability of human capital across countries, especially, of the foreign experience. In order to improve the chances of success of new immigrants, the implications of such results for immigration policy command a questioning and a reexamination of: (1) the resources allocated to the recruitment and information of potential immigrants in their country of origin prior to migration; (2) the programs already in place to facilitate their integration in the labour market; and (3) the Point System that is in use for selecting the most potentially successful immigrants.

Abstract (French)

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