Conference Agenda

As a consequence of the vast international educational expansion at the higher education levels, competition for the relatively scarcer coveted positions on the globalizing labor market intensified among highly educated individuals in many highly industrialized societies. Today, families with advantaged socioeconomic status (SES) not only invest in achieving a high level of education (e.g., university degree) to maintain their children’s status advantage, but also increasingly focus their efforts on horizontal differences in educational attainment, i.e. universities or programs that promise higher returns. In this regard, the gradual transformation and institutionalization of ‘transnational human capital’(THC) as valued cultural capital provides an opportunity for affluent families to pursue additional status-setting investment.

Studying abroad (SA) is believed to be most efficient to acquire THC and enhance individuals’ career prospective.Indeed, past research indicates moderately positive effects of SA participation on labor market outcomes such as income and employment, but simultaneously indicates that the potential benefits of SA are primarily reaped by advantaged strata, which implies that SA tends to foster the reproduction of social inequality. However, findings on the heterogenous effects of SA by SES and gender are less well documented. In particular, comparative studies are sparse: We do not know much about who benefits more from SA than others and how different national strategies to foster global human resources translate into individuals’ opportunities on the labor market. To narrow this research gap, we draw on national representative data for two schooled societies pursuing different internationalization strategies: Strong SA focus at selected institutions (“Japan Revitalization Strategy” in Japan) vs. no particular SA focus but broad encouragement at most institutions (“AAC&U’s LEAP Initiative” in the United States).

We address the following research questions: (1) Are there differences in SES and gender disparities in SA at college in Japan compared to the US (after controlling for other variables)? (2) How does SA at college affect labor market outcomes (employment & income) according to students’ SES and gender in both societies? To answer these questions, we combine cultural and social reproduction with job-competition theories.

Based on our theoretical thoughts and preliminary findings, we expect the following main findings: (1) High SES and female students are more likely to complete SA in both societies, net of other factors. (2) High SES and male students benefit most from their SA experiences. However, we expect a greater gender pay and employment gap in Japan compared to the US.

Skilled labor shortage has placed Germany as fifth in the world for job vacancies in strategic labor sectors (DIW, 2022) and is already impairing every second firm in the country (KfW, 2023). Economic forecasts expect declining economic growth and innovation, severely compromising the sustainability of social security. Increasing pressure have prompted the Skilled Worker Immigration Act (Fachkraefteeinwanderungsgesetz) or FEG in 2020, aiming to increase third country labor migration of workers with vocational training degrees even in occupations not prioritized by the federal employment agency. The reform may be especially relevant for women who despite an increasing share with qualification degrees still usually migrate in the family context based on the partner's occupational aims. Studies on skilled migrant women show gender discrimination, limited professional development, and deskilling (JEMS special issue, 2017). The relevance of skilled immigrant women's labor force participation as to reducing labor shortage is frequently underestimated and little consideration is paid towards its peculiarities resulting from higher domestic responsibilities. Our study uses a gender perspective in examining the early expost-pandemic effects of the FEG on migration and labor market participation of qualified women from third countries. We use the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample which has been enlarged in 2020 and 2021 by new FEG-relevant questions and recently migrated respondents. We delve into migration and employment trajectories of women who migrated before and after the introduction of the FEG reforms to Germany vis-a-vis men. We deepen our study by including analysis on recruitment, information, language acquisition, and the division of paid and unpaid work among household members. Initial findings indicate an improvement of migration and integration opportunities of women. Reduced barriers for skilled workers have a significant impact on the share of women among labor migrants. Nevertheless, deskilling is more severe and, recognizing credentials appear to be more relevant for women than for men. Among the skilled labor immigrant women, the share of those with children have not changed significantly. This is key, as children represent a main barrier of labor market integration only for women, conveying the need for quality child-care supply to support their labor market participation. Altogether, our study offers concrete evidence of the importance of gender differentials and possible venues for policies to eradicate barriers to labor market integration and loss of human capital.

Many studies have documented immigrant’s economic disadvantage (Portes et al., 2005). It results from less international transferability of human capitals acquired in the country of origin (Chiswick, 1978; Zeng and Xie, 2004). Prior studies also reported that post-migration human capital investment matter more than pre-migration one in shaping labor market outcomes among immigrants (Lancee and Bol, 2017; Valbuena and Zhu, 2018). Meanwhile, there is increasing heterogeneity in higher education because of the continued educational expansion. Previous literature discusses that earnings return to education differs significantly by field of study and by the rank of educational institutions. Advanced industrial economies tend to have strong demand for highly-skilled workers in the fields of science, technology and math (STEM). This type of labor demand exceeds the labor supply from domestic workers. Many countries compete to attract highly qualified workers who studied science and technology. Nevertheless, fewer studies explored whether the human capitals or educational credentials acquired in the country of origin is less transferable to the labor market in the country of destination among the workers who studied the STEM field at school. Our study chooses the case of Japan. Japan is an attractive case because the labor market has a strong demand for both highly-skilled and unskilled immigrant workers due to the declining fertility rate. However, the structure of segmented labor market hinders immigrants from achieving parity with native workers and from being incorporated into the core sector of labor market. This study can explore how the STEM education helps immigrants earn higher wage in a highly segregated labor market. We use the data derived from the survey on immigrants in Tokyo metropolitan areas. This survey was undertaken in October and November 2021. The tentative results of the statistical analyses are as follows; first, the distribution of schooling level is highly polarized. As compared to Japanese individuals, more immigrants attained only compulsory education than Japanese. Meanwhile, more immigrants in Tokyo obtained university education than Japanese individuals. When estimating earnings return to education among immigrants in Tokyo, there was no significant earnings disparity between those who attained STEM education in Japan and those of STEM education in other countries. We can have a tentative conclusion that STEM education acquired in other countries did not lead to economic disadvantages among immigrants in Tokyo. We further discuss the implication of the results in the meeting.