Occupational status of immigrants in cross-national perspective: A multilevel analysis of seventeen Western societies

It is well documented that micro-level factors like human capital and demographic position are important for the incorporation of immigrants in the labor market. Immigrants with a higher education, who are more proficient in the destination language, who have more work experience, and who remained longer in the destination country, generally have a better position in the labor market (McAllister 1995; Poston 1994; Raijman and Semyonov 1995). Recently macro factors have also received increasing attention from students of the economic integration of immigrants (Model and Lin 2002). One research tradition has shown that, even after taking into account human-capital variables, the country of origin affects immigrants’ economic position (Borjas 1999; Jasso and Rosenzweig 1990; Poston 1994; Raijman and Semyonov 1995). Another line of research suggests that the attainment of immigrant groups also differs between destination countries (Borjas 1988; Model 1997; Model, Fisher, and Silberman 1999; Model and Lapido 1996; Reitz 1998, 2003). Van Tubergen, Maas, and Flap (2004) combined both macro approaches and suggested that three groups of macro effects strongly affect the economic attainment of immigrants. First, there exists what they call “origin effects,” the impact of countries of origin irrespective of the destination of immigrants. Second, they outline “destination effects,” the impact of receiving societies, notwithstanding immigrants’ origins. Third, there is an influence of the combination of origin and destination, which they called “setting” or “community” effects.