TTPI Seminar Series
We examine how foreign credential recognition affects the labour market outcomes of skilled migrants in Australia, using Mutual Recognition Agreements signed between professional bodies as a source of staggered, quasi-experimental variation. Drawing on linked tax and migration administrative records, we estimate difference-in-differences event studies with individual fixed effects across 75 agreements covering 2003-2019. We find economically large effects: real wages rise by around 12 percent and real income by around 15 percent. Effects are concentrated among migrants without an employer sponsor, and are accompanied by significant increases in self-employment and directors' fees, suggesting recognition unlocks both wage employment in nominated fields and independent professional practice. Our findings point to credential recognition as a meaningful and underutilised policy lever for better employing migrant skills.
Event Speakers
Matthew Maltman
Matthew Maltman is a Senior Research Economist at the e61 Institute. His work covers tax-transfer policy, labour markets, gambling, and productivity, including research on zoning reform’s effects on housing. He previously worked at the Australian Productivity Commission and holds First-Class Honours from the University of Western Australia.