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Finishing Degrees and Finding Jobs: US Higher Education and the Flow of Foreign IT Workers

In: Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 15

Author

Listed:
  • John Bound
  • Murat Demirci
  • Gaurav Khanna
  • Sarah Turner
Abstract
The rising importance of Information Technology (IT) occupations in the U.S. economy has been accompanied by an expansion in the representation of high-skill foreign-born IT workers. To illustrate, the share of foreign born in IT occupations increased from about 15.5% to about 31.5% between 1993 and 2010, with this increased representation particularly marked among those younger than 45. This analysis focuses on understanding the role that U.S. higher education and immigration policy play in this transformation. A degree from a U.S. college/university is an important pathway to participation in the U.S. IT labor market, and the foreign-born who obtain U.S. degree credentials are particularly likely to remain in the U.S. Many workers from abroad, including countries like India and China where wages in IT fields lag those in the U.S., receive a substantial return to finding employment in the U.S., even as temporary work visa policies may limit their entry. Limits on temporary work visas, which are particularly binding for those educated abroad, likely increase the attractiveness of degree attainment from U.S. colleges and universities as a pathway to explore opportunities in the U.S labor market in IT.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • John Bound & Murat Demirci & Gaurav Khanna & Sarah Turner, 2014. "Finishing Degrees and Finding Jobs: US Higher Education and the Flow of Foreign IT Workers," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 15, pages 27-72, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberch:13402
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    1. John Bound & Breno Braga & Gaurav Khanna & Sarah Turner, 2020. "A Passage to America: University Funding and International Students," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 97-126, February.
    2. M. Chand & R. L. Tung, 2019. "Skilled immigration to fill talent gaps: A comparison of the immigration policies of the United States, Canada, and Australia," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 2(4), pages 333-355, December.
    3. William R. Kerr, 2020. "The Gift of Global Talent: Innovation Policy and the Economy," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-37.
    4. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Furtado, Delia & Xu, Huanan, 2019. "OPT policy changes and foreign born STEM talent in the U.S," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    5. Beine, Michel & Peri, Giovanni & Raux, Morgan, 2023. "International college students’ impact on the US skilled labor supply," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    6. Yinjunjie Zhang & Marco A. Palma, 2020. "The impact of the H-1B cap exemption on Ph.D. labor markets," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 2125-2152, November.
    7. Michael Roach & Henry Sauermann & John Skrentny, 2019. "Are Foreign STEM PhDs More Entrepreneurial? Entrepreneurial Characteristics, Preferences, and Employment Outcomes of Native and Foreign Science and Engineering PhD Students," NBER Chapters, in: The Roles of Immigrants and Foreign Students in US Science, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, pages 207-228, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William Kerr & Çağlar Özden & Christopher Parsons, 2016. "Global Talent Flows," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 83-106, Fall.
    9. Chen, Mingyu & Howell, Jessica & Smith, Jonathan, 2023. "Best and brightest? The impact of student visa restrictiveness on who attends college in the US," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    10. Amornsiripanitch, Natee & Gompers, Paul A. & Hu, George & Vasudevan, Kaushik, 2023. "Getting schooled: Universities and VC-backed immigrant entrepreneurs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(7).
    11. Murat Demirci, 2020. "International students and labour market outcomes of US‐born workers," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 1495-1522, November.
    12. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Shih, Kevin Y. & Xu, Huanan, 2020. "International Student Enrollments and Selectivity: Evidence from the Optional Practical Training Program," IZA Discussion Papers 13730, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Furtado, Delia & Xu, Huanan, 2018. "Did OPT Policy Changes Help Steer and Retain Foreign Talent into Stem?," IZA Discussion Papers 11548, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Murat Demirci, 2021. "Rising Political Populism and Outmigration of Youth as International Students," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2123, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    15. Demirci, Murat, 2023. "Youth responses to political populism: Education abroad as a step toward emigration," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 653-673.
    16. Gordon H. Hanson & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2017. "High-Skilled Immigration and the Rise of STEM Occupations in US Employment," NBER Chapters, in: Education, Skills, and Technical Change: Implications for Future US GDP Growth, pages 465-494, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. John Bound & Breno Braga & Gaurav Khanna & Sarah Turner, 2021. "The Globalization of Postsecondary Education: The Role of International Students in the US Higher Education System," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 163-184, Winter.
    18. Natee Amornsiripanitch & Paul A. Gompers & George Hu & Kaushik Vasudevan, 2021. "Getting Schooled: The Role of Universities in Attracting Immigrant Entrepreneurs," NBER Working Papers 28773, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Gordon H. Hanson & Chen Liu, 2017. "High-Skilled Immigration and the Comparative Advantage of Foreign-Born Workers across US Occupations," NBER Chapters, in: High-Skilled Migration to the United States and Its Economic Consequences, pages 7-40, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Catalina Amuedo‐Dorantes & Kevin Shih & Huanan Xu, 2023. "The implications of optional practical training reforms on international student enrollments and quality," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(2), pages 253-281, April.
    21. Sergio Lo Iacono & Neli Demireva, 2018. "Returns to Foreign and Host Country Qualifications: Evidence from the US on the Labour Market Placement of Migrants and the Second Generation," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(3), pages 142-152.
    22. Britta Glennon, 2020. "How Do Restrictions on High-Skilled Immigration Affect Offshoring? Evidence from the H-1B Program," NBER Working Papers 27538, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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