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What set of immigrant
and ethnocultural policies would best promote the ability of Canada,
the provinces and cities to compete effectively in the new economy?
Arthur Sweetman
School of Policy Studies
Queen’s University
sweetman@qsilver.queensu.ca
1. Introduction
This discussion
of research priorities related to the title is based on a survey of
the relevant research literature, conversations with 24 people from
22 different organizations prior to the 5th National Metropolis
conference, and discussions and e-mails related to the conference where
the initial version of this report was discussed. Many of the 22 organizations
involved are federal departments, for example Human Resources Development
Canada, Industry Canada, and Finance. However, consultations were also
undertaken with academics, individuals from provincial ministries related
to immigration and education, and others.
To date most economic
policy research related to immigration has involved issues closely related
to labor market integration, and has typically involved analyzing large
survey or administrative data sets such as the census or the IMDB. Obviously,
labor market integration is a crucial issue, however there is also a
need for a somewhat broader set of issues to be addressed that have
been relatively neglected. Therefore, in addition to continuing work
on the labor market integration of immigrants, research on the relationships
between immigration and factors such as trade, foreign direct investment
and the evolution of the capital stock (which directly affects productivity)
should be pursued. Further, detailed evaluation of programs offering
services to immigrants, frequently funded by CIC and/or various provincial
agencies and commonly delivered through, for example, various settlement
agencies, would be useful both as a management tool and in improving
the economic and social integration of immigrants. By evaluation, I
do not imply what is sometimes called a "process evaluation"
or an audit, but rather an "impact evaluation" — that is an
evaluation of the effectiveness of the program, or the relative effectiveness
of alternative programs.
In pursuing a research
agenda, unlike an individual research study, broad diversity on several
fronts must be considered. This report does not pretend to be an entire
agenda, but focuses on issues related to the "new economy"
as indicated in the titular question. This question is an appropriate
and important one. Some of the terms, such as "new economy"
have a variety of interpretations, but this should be seen as a positive
aspect of the question, not a negative one. This report takes a broad
and flexible interpretation of the question in accord with its interpretation
by those with whom I had discussions. For example, sometimes the new
economy is taken to imply something about advanced technology (especially
computer and information technology), and/or about information more
generally, and/or economic globalization, and/or the increasing multicultural
nature of the economy. Thus, while many of the topics listed below can
be viewed through many different "lenses", the issue under consideration
is economic competitiveness in relation to immigration policy, and it
is in this primarily economic light that the topics below will be pursued.
It is, however, clear that an economic lens is not inconsistent with
other lenses. In particular, most projects have a gender dimension,
and this should be considered. The potentially differential effects
of policies, programs and legislation on women and men can often be
masked or obscured when one sex is the exclusive domain of analysis,
or when the two are pooled. Policy analysis, therefore, must always
include a conscious effort to examine gender in order to reveal these
effects and discover previously hidden implications. This is not to
say that individual projects need in every case address both sexes,
but that the overall agenda must address the needs of the entire population.
Further, many of the issues below should also be studied at the other
levels of disaggregation. In particular, geographic (esp. Montreal-Toronto-Vancouver)
differences matter, as may sectoral, or demographic (e.g. youth, or
individuals without official Canadian language skills) ones.
1.1 Expectation
(and other) Gaps
Although this may
be an aside from the specific topic assigned, in the variety of discussions
and reactions to the National Conference I have observed, it has become
apparent that there is on occasion a gap in expectations between the
government and the academic communities. Some of the questions posed
by individuals in government and related agencies are not viewed as
traditional academic research questions by many academics. (The qualifiers
"some" and "many" are important in this context;
there remains substantial overlap.) Further, on the academic side, different
disciplines tend to have different skills and particular questions that
fit into their traditional purview. Some of the questions being posed
have topics that fit one discipline’s interests, but another’s skill
set. Despite efforts at interdisciplinary within academia, these types
of "topic" and "skill" boundaries remain very real
and are best recognized (even by those who wish to alleviate them).
Some research topics of interest to government officials are also viewed
by some academics as probably not being of interest to high quality
academic journals/presses, which is their prime target for research
output.
Another gap is that
some of the questions posed appear to have been the subject of previous
research, but the results are not well known. Further, and more subtly,
interpreting the implications of the existing research, and assessing
its quality, is not straightforward. This implies an important role
for dissemination and "receptor capacity", and for critical
(if controversial) appraisals of the research literature. In addition
to new research, it might therefore be worth sponsoring critical surveys
or reviews of particular questions. Recent "scans" of the
literature by HRDC and Health Canada will certainly be valuable contributions
in this direction, and there is probably greater value in doing such
scans inside government than academia.
I believe that some
of the topics suggested below will require attracting researchers (or
more researchers) in somewhat different sub-fields of various disciplines
than have been primarily involved in Metropolis to date. Many, or most,
of the topics are national in scope, although many results should also
be disaggregated by province or region. Whether there would be gains
from comparative work across centers is unclear. It might be worth piloting
small conferences (with extended discussions of research) that focus
on a tight set of topics and draw researchers from the various centers,
in order to see if there are synergies or gains from discussion. There
would almost certainly be gains from increasing the geographic dispersion
of the researchers associated with the various domains in each center
(or at least those domains that I am aware of). There is no obvious
good reason why a researcher at Carleton University should not be a
member of the Vancouver Centre, but these types of geographically distant
links appear to be rare. Relatedly, for priority research topics it
would probably be of great benefit to actively recruit high quality
researchers to complement the existing stock.
2. Topics for
Future Research
In this section
I first outline, in very broad terms, a theme (some with sub-themes)
or area in which research appears to be demanded, and then provide a
series of short sentences, or fragments, that describe particular topics.
Clearly some of the particular topics could be placed under various
themes, or given particular "spins" in their implementations.
There is no lack of research questions that resulted from this consultation
process, and those presented represent a consolidation of the full set.
2.1 Labour Market
Integration
Many individuals
expressed a desire to expand upon the research literature that explores
issues related to labour market integration since this is a crucial
aspect of the new economy. While aspects of research on labour market
integration are well developed, other aspects remain relatively, or
completely, unexplored.
- What roles do
pre-existing ethnic communities play? How do they aid in faster integration
and greater productivity and competitiveness? Can this be facilitated?
- What barriers
do women of different ethno-cultural communities face in accessing settlement
services? How can full access be facilitated?
- Chain migration.
What is the evidence for immigration of subsequent family members and/or
other relatives or affiliates following an initial immigrant? Does chain
migration speed up the rate of economic integration? What are the implications
of chain migration for the point system? Is there a relationship between
the points (skills/characteristics) of the principal applicant and the
skills of those in any migration chain that might exist?
- Do provincial
nominee program participants’ have different economic integration patterns?
- Why has there
been a decline in the relative labour market outcomes of recent immigrants?
- Second-generation
immigrant economic integration
- Greater focus
on unemployment/underemployment as opposed to wages/earnings, and on
life-cycle impacts of relevant variables.
- Focus on previously
neglected sub-groups and factors (i.e. more than male national average)
- What strategies
might be employed to encourage greater diversification in immigrant
economic activity and entrepreneurship? Is greater diversification,
or what type of diversification, to Canada’s competitive advantage?
- Can we identify
"winners and losers" among pre-existing Canadians as a result
of immigration? Can we design transfers from the winners to the losers?
- How do female
and male migrants negotiate working conditions and legal status? How
important is legal status as a determinant of engagement (or labour
market experience/incorporation)?
- How does gender
shape immigrants’ citizenship practices (including economic incorporation)?
How does women’s participation differ from men’s in terms of arenas
or types of activities, roles, power and authority, initial motivations,
trajectories of participation?
2.1.1 Credential/occupational
recognition
- Understanding
and appropriately recognizing/accrediting non-Canadian educational credentials
- Education gaps;
identifying and providing educational upgrading (assessment tools, delivery)
- Non-academic occupational
gaps (e.g. training in Canadian equipment)
- Training in Canadian
professional practices/codes of conduct/ ethics procedures
- Evaluate mentoring
to increase the rate at which recent immigrants integrate economically
2.1.2 Official
language skills and adult arrivals
- Occupation specific
Canadian language training (skill/needs assessment, delivery, etc.)
- By what avenues
do a lack of Canadian language skills impede labour market integration?
- How do Canadian
language skills and discrimination interact in the labour market?
2.1.3 Retention
and Brain Drain
- How large is the
immigrant flow "through" Canada to the US and elsewhere? What is the
value of the skills lost? Do these people return to Canada? What are
their characteristics?
- How important
is return migration (both to and from Canada)? What are the economic
implications?
2.1.4 Entrepreneurship
and self-employment
-What strategies
are used by immigrant entrepreneurs (independent and others) to establish
businesses? Which are the most successful? What financing options/strategies
are pursued?
- Do successful
immigrant strategies differ from those of the Canadian-born?
- How effective
are current government policies (at all levels) in aiding job creation
and job retention? Suggestions for new policies.
- Does job quality
in new immigrant enterprises differ from the average for similar firms?
- What particular
problems do female immigrants face in obtaining resources?
2.1.5 The selection
process
- What is the value
of the current, or alternative, point systems or elements of the points
system? (e.g. do language skills at landing really impact later labour
market outcomes in all cases, for example, for the highly skilled, children,
by gender etc.)
- Does the current
selection process accurately identify skilled workers?
- Should alternative
criteria be employed?
- Is the points
system worth the associated overhead?
2.2 Broader Topics
There is great desire
from some corners to increase the range of questions related to the
economy that are asked and answered. Some of these questions are quite
fundamental and question basic assumptions of Canada’s immigration strategy.
They are outlined below.
2.2.1 Fiscal
Impacts of Immigration
The fiscal impacts
of immigration is probably the one issue in this group that has received
the most attention, however, it has not been addressed in a very comprehensive
way. Probably the most comprehensive recent work on this issue was done
for the United States by the National Research Council at the behest
of a Congressional Commission on Immigration Reform, and a summary is
published in The New Americans: Economic, Demographic and Fiscal
Effects of Immigration edited by James P. Smith and Barry Edmonston.
However, Canada is quite different from the United States and I would
be very hesitant to assume that their results would hold here.
- What is the impact
of immigration on the national and provincial treasuries? And on their
(unfunded) liabilities (e.g. the CPP)?
- How does the economic
return on the national investment in immigration compare with, for example,
the economic return on a payment toward the national debt for the pre-existing
Canadian (landed or born) population?
- What is the value
to Canadians of the social benefits of immigration? How much would Canadians
be willing to pay (perhaps through higher taxes) to increase our ethnic
and cultural diversity?
2.2.2 Trade in
services and international recognition of credentials
This is largely
related to recent/current negotiations involving Canada in international
agreements (esp. NAFTA, WTO sponsored talks). It involves Canadian credentials
being recognized elsewhere, and Canada’s reciprocal recognition. At
issue are the economies of scale associated with a larger customer base,
and the gains from trade that should ensue. These workers will probably
be assigned temporary work visas, although some other designation may
be developed.
It has been pointed
out that the effects of trade and immigration are very similar, and
that optimal immigration policy under free trade might be quite different
than without it. Any economic impacts of immigration on the incomes
of pre-existing Canadians is expected to be much reduced as trade increases.
As a result of the
potential mutual recognition requirements under NAFTA and WTO (esp.
mode 4 service negotiations currently underway)
- How sizable are
the potential people flows? Who is affected? Outflows of Canadians (retention)?
- How large are
the gains from trade? Returns to scale? Other competitive advantages?
- Do these temporary
workers serve to increase Canada’s productivity? Standard of living?
2.2.3 Trade,
Investment, Productivity, Productivity Growth and Displacement
- What are the links
between immigration and trade (both import and export) patterns?
- Are immigrants
likely to cause increased Canadian trade flows with their source country?
Do they currently?
- Does trade really
substitute for immigration? Does it do so for some products?
- Foreign direct
investment and immigrant flows - are they related (geographically, occupationally
etc.)?
- How does the Canadian
capital stock (and capital stock per capita) adjust to immigration levels?
Should immigration targets be related to the rate of change in the capital
stock to maintain/increase average worker productivity/competitiveness?
- Does immigration
impact the distribution of capital among (pre-existing) workers? Do
some workers have less/more capital to work with? How does this impact
the distribution of worker productivity and wages?
- If Canada wants
high levels of immigration, should this be accompanied by programs to
stimulate the rate of capital accumulation to ensure a high rate of
productivity growth? If yes, what type of programs?
- One (usually polite,
and sometimes not recognized) controversy that arose in discussion was
the desire from some for the occupational or industrial integration
(meaning "same distribution") of new immigrants. In contrast,
economists point out that the more similar the jobs of new immigrants
and pre-existing Canadians (more formally the greater their substitutability
as opposed to complementarity) the greater the potential displacement
effects – where displacement implies a cost is imposed on the pre-existing
individual by competition from the introduction of a new one -- and
wage reductions, and the smaller the increment to national output of
immigration. Canada’s efforts at targeting occupational holes (e.g.
current areas with shortages are viewed as being in high technology
or medical sectors), is directly relevant to this issue.
- It has been argued
that "immigration is Canada’s only source of labour market growth" and
that this growth is required for a healthy economy. What is the value
of immigration to the pre-existing population? Does it increase productivity
per capita?
- Is there geographic
and/or occupational displacement of the Canadian-born by immigrants?
- How should immigration
levels vary with the business cycle? Are there differences across immigration
classes? Should the concept of "absorptive capacity" be revived?
2.2.4 Competition
for skilled immigrant workers
- Does the Canadian
economy really need a large injection of skilled immigrants (type of
immigrant as opposed to the total number of immigrants)? Is Canada’s
educational infrastructure insufficient, or are resources being mis-allocated,
so that the nation needs immigrants of a particular skill class (as
opposed to immigrants in general)?
- What are the economic
spillovers from high skilled immigrants (especially productivity related)?
- Foreign students.
One concept put forward is to offer "world class" scholarships to foreign
students to attract them to Canadian universities (no mention was made
of funding additional seats in classrooms). This could be followed by
offers of "preferred landing" status. How might this class of immigrants
be expected to perform in the labour market? What might retention rates
be? Repercussions from source governments? How large are the displacement
effects?
- There is a need
to understand the international competition for skilled immigrants.
What are other countries’ strategies for attracting/retaining skilled
immigrants?
2.2.5 Integration
into the education system (development of human capital - language skills)
Many immigrants
arrive as children and their lifetime productivity and social integration
is a function of their integration (or lack thereof) into the education
system. Relatedly, given the "peer" effects in schools, poor integration
of immigrant children can have wider impacts.
- International
comparisons of how education systems absorb immigrant children.
- Language acquisition
and its relevance for educational/labour market outcomes. How do first
and second language issues affect assessment?
- Second and third
generation immigrant educational (and subsequent economic) integration.
- How can schools
work more effectively with students and their families’ indigenous language
and knowledge? How does household organization affect mothers’ contributions
to their children’s cultural capital?
2.3 Evaluation
of Programs Providing Services to Immigrants
Although I view
this as potentially a very important area for future research, the detailed
list is not very long. This is largely a result of my lack of familiarity
with the programs involved and the current level of evaluation. As mentioned
above, the proposal is for "impact", not "process"
evaluations. This is not dissimilar to the ongoing evaluations conducted
under the auspicious of the Evaluation and Data Development group at
HRDC. It should be noted that this has the potential to be controversial
among program operators. There is also the possibility for excellent
work using other administrative data at CIC and other Ministries.
- Impact assessments
of existing/ past programs to facilitate integration
- Impact assessments
of existing/ past language and training programs
- Evaluation of
the outcomes of various academic credential recognition services
3. Conclusions
It is important
in a project the size of Metropolis to pursue a wide diversity of individual
studies. In terms of those discussed above, and given the structure
of the Metropolis Network, I’d prioritize those projects that are of
direct short-term policy relevance and whose topics are further from
the existing body of work on immigration. To that end I’d encourage
more work evaluating the programs and services provided to immigrants,
especially language and related training for new immigrants. Also, although
these are somewhat harder to do, more work on immigration in relation
to trade and investment would also seem to be a high priority. Similarly,
work on immigration and the evolution of the capital stock would be
very worthwhile since it speaks directly to productivity growth.
In terms of integration
issues, work that uses newer data sources (such as the IMDB, which is
only beginning to be used in my opinion), or newer aspects of older
data sources (e.g. not the public uses census data, but the master files
that allow much more detailed research) would probably be the most productive.
However, using these data sources comes at a cost. While Statistics
Canada has established a number of Regional Data Centres (RDCs), the
application process is not inconsiderable, and the time costs in getting
to the centers is substantial for many academics. Some of these data
sets can only be accessed in Ottawa. This implies important financial
and time/travel costs for researchers. Metropolis might want to consider
some way of facilitating such work -- for example, sponsoring teaching
release time for researchers who must undertake such travel.
Much of the research
discussed for this topic is quantitative and sometimes very technical.
Dissemination and reception capacity should, therefore, also be priorities
and they are of particular importance for the more technical work (all
too often dissemination is discussed without thinking about the "receptor
capacity" – I believe the two need to be considered together).
Quantitative work is best suited for some of the issues mentioned and
the two techniques together can be more useful than either in isolation.
December
17th, 2001
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