Labour market outcomes and educational and occupational pathways of young movers starting off in regional Victoria

Abstract

This report addresses the third research question of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage project (LP120100212), namely How do these pathways play out in terms of spatial mobility and what role does mobility play in the choices individuals make? It does so by seeking answers to a common debate in migration studies. Migrants are normally expected to do better than those stayed behind in the home community (Greenwood 1997; Cushing and Poot 2004). Migrants are expected to enjoy higher levels of wellbeing, have higher income, access to better education and employment opportunities, reflecting the individual aspirations underlying the decision to migrate (UN 2009). However, it is less clear if migrants do better than people in the host community (Herzog and Schlottmann 1984; Newbold 2012). Migrants may struggle more as they endeavour to build a social network and to adapt to their new place of residence, but they may also be more motivated and determined to enhance their human capital and labour market outcomes (Herzog and Schlottmann 1984).

Francisco Rowe

Professor of Population Data Science

My research interests include human mobility and migration; economic geography and spatial inequality; geographic data science.