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U.S. vs foreign born compared by education level

I’ve been looking for this for some time – the shares of 25 + year old persons, U.S. born and foreign born, by educational level. I found data here, then estimated the two populations for 25 or older. The results are inexact, but confirm that which we knew: a disproportionate share of adults with less than high school education are foreign born. The table, however, does not reveal that in the past 10 or so years, recent immigrants are much more formally educated than earlier arriving immigrants. This shift reflects how the dominant type of immigrant 1980 – 2005 was … Continue reading U.S. vs foreign born compared by education level

Australia’s educational system as an export industry

From a 2018 article (here): Australia has managed to turn immigration into an export industry. After minerals, Australia’s largest “export” may well be educational services, represented by tuition fees paid by international students studying in Australia. It is an open secret that most of these students view an Australian degree as a back door to permanent residency. In effect, Australian universities are selling more than just a quality education. They are selling the hope of a permanent resident visa along with it. As a result, Australia, with a population of about 25 million, is ranked fourth in the world for … Continue reading Australia’s educational system as an export industry

Asian vs Mexican immigrant educational achievement

New Asian immigrants began to outnumber Latin American immigrants in 2015. This has lifted the formal educational status of recent immigrants, one of several trends which cause the immigrant population to more closely match the demographics of U.S. born persons. Other such trends include narrowing the disparity between the median immigrant / U.S. born work work income.

Rising educational status of recent immigrants

The Pew Research Center reported on higher educational attainment of graduates. It noted a steady moderate increase from 1970 through 2007, then a sharp increase. Native-born Americans are better educated than in 1970, but especially in recent years new immigrants have outpaced native-born Americans in education. Half of newly arrived immigrants in 1970 had at least a high school education; in 2013, more than three-quarters did. In 1970, a fifth had graduated from college; in 2013, 41% had done so. What is going on? #1 Rise in foreign college graduates Immigrants have been tilted to college graduates more than native-born … Continue reading Rising educational status of recent immigrants

Our STEM educational system is globalized

In the mid 20th Century, the United States had an overwhelming advantage over most of the world in the size of investment in formal education. (See here.) That advantage has greatly declined. One result is that the educated population, tremendously grown and more distributed, is competing and complementing the educated American. I believe that one aspect of this competition – complementarity is the emerge of over a billion workers into a global economy brought together by lower communication and transportation costs. These trends will continue. Another aspect of global transformation is globalization of STEM higher education in the United States … Continue reading Our STEM educational system is globalized

The great educational success of Nigerian Americans

Researchers are noting the specially high educational attainment among Nigerian Americans. First gen Nigerian Americans are super educated. 63% of first-generation Nigerian immigrants to the United States are college educated. In comparison, 40.1% of non-Hispanic whites age 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher (26% of. Blacks, 52% of Asians an 19% of Hispanics.) in Nigeria only 7% of the population are college graduates. Second gen Nigerian Americans excel. They are more highly concentrated at the upper levels than for any other group. For example, among second-generation Asian men, 7.3% obtained PhD or professional degrees, compared to 14% … Continue reading The great educational success of Nigerian Americans

Higher education attainment of immigrants

Immigrant education creates a hour-glass profile. Immigrants in the U.S. as a whole have lower levels of education than the U.S.-born population. This average lower level is very influenced the Mexican and Central American immigration in the 1990 – 2007 period. Since then, the immigration flow of persons with little formal education slowed considerably, while immigration from Asia, with higher educational status, increased. Today, the average education of recent immigrants is very likely higher than that of U.S. born persons. (Go here.) The table below is for 2018. The college-educated immigranyt population is especially notable in California, where 31% of … Continue reading Higher education attainment of immigrants

Wage earnings and education Mexicans in U.S. vs. native born workers.

Mexicans are paid about 20%-25% less than native born workers with the same educational attainment. I am confident this is due to language barriers, discrimination and relative sophistication in the job market. And, Mexicans are much more likely to be poorly educated compared to any other foreign born worker from other than Latin America. A great majority of very poorly educated workers in the United States come from outside the country.In our native-born labor force, only one percent have an 8th grade or lesser education. That’s about 1.3 million workers. Among Mexicans and Central Americans, that share is 34%, or … Continue reading Wage earnings and education Mexicans in U.S. vs. native born workers.

Mexican educational assimilation in the US

An important concern among immigrant research and policy communities is whether Mexican Americans progressively attain higher educational outcomes over generations, as do about all other immigrant groups, or whether progress stalls. Until now, research showed that progress stalled, that 3rd generation Mexican Americans failed to achieve higher education than 2nd generation. A new study, using a hitherto unused data source, finds that education attainment has in fact progressed. This study corrected for two biases in previous studies. The authors were able to track Mexican origins even among people with this origin who no longer self-identify as Mexican, and they sorted … Continue reading Mexican educational assimilation in the US

Change in education level of immigrants past and present

This graphic shows (1) the great change in education levels of 1990 and 2013 immigrants, towards higher educational attainment, and (2) the estimate lifetime net effect on public finances of the immigrant, using estimates for recent immigrants ( minus figure = negative fiscal impact, plus = positive impact). Thanks to Sarah.