2021 IAS Rainmaker Start Up - Degrees of Unfreedom: Foreign-Born University Graduate Labor Market Outcomes in Australia, Sweden, and the United States

The funding sought from this grant will form the Australian component of an international cross-comparative study with external collaborators, they are Associate Professor Ly Tran (Deakin University, Australia), Dr Tristian Stark (Cornell University, United States) and Dr Guilhereme Chihaya da Silva (Umeå University, Sweden). This immediate objective of this Rainmaker Start Up grant seeks to establish an international collaborative relationship between researchers from the above institutions and lead at least one a co-authored journal article in a Q1 journal and work towards a larger ARC Linkage application in partnership with industry as well as with international collaborators listed above.

This project seeks to assess labour market outcomes of international student graduates in Australia, United States and Sweden. In particular, we are interested in whether substantial changes in national-level visa policies making it easier or harder for highly-skilled foreign-born residents to enter or remain in Australia after graduation have an effect on: 1) the likelihood of obtaining employment after graduation; 2) the total amount of time necessary to gain employment after graduation; and 3) differences in 1) and 2) across degree/field type, gender, and race/ethnicity. Datasets relating to international student graduates in each of the three countries will be analysed to inform the research necessary for the publication of a journal article in a Q1 journal.

The Australian Census and Temporary Entrants Integrated Dataset (ACTEID), Swedish registry data, and the United States Census Bureau’s National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) are the key data sources that we are analysing for this project. The funding from this grant will be primarily used to engage a casual research assistant (already identified) with advanced statistical and data analysis expertise to carry out the Australian component of this study which involves an in-depth analysis of the ACTEID dataset.

Please note that Associate Professor Ly Tran will be using her research funds (approximately $2,500) to contribute towards the overall funds necessary for this research assistant to carry out the research. Further, Dr Tristan Ivory - through Cornell University’s Einaudi’s seed funding scheme - is proposing to also put forth USD$10,000 towards the United States and Swedish components of this international collaboration.

This international collaborative venture and intended journal article publication made possible by the Rainmaker Start up grant, will help form the fundamental groundwork necessary for a longer-term objective which is to apply for an ARC Linkage Grant in partnership with industry partners in late 2022 or early 2023. The anticipated funding attached to this intended ARC Linkage is estimated to be between AUD$250,000 to $300,000. Collaborators from the United States and Sweden also intend to apply for similar scale funding respectively which will feed into a large scale, international cross-comparative study.

It is our hope to eventually bring in researchers in Canada and the UK (leading study destinations that also have substantial international graduate populations), but this is entirely dependent on completing at least one paper with the current research team and data sources indicated in this application.