Asian Tigers Abroad:From Educational Achievement to Labor Market Success among the 1.5 and 2nd Generation

Immigration from Asia to North America has steadily grown since the 1960s, and today scholars study the labor market integration not only of immigrants but also of their children. Using parental birthplace and visible minority data from the 2006 Canadian census, the occupational statuses and earnings of nine Asian origin 1.5 and 2nd generation groups are compared to each other and to the third-plus generation whites: South Korea, Chinese from Hong Kong; Chinese from the People’s Republic of China; Japan; Philippines; Vietnamese; Sri Lanka; India and Pakistan. With the exception of the Filipino and Vietnamese 1.5 and 2nd generation, analysis of the population age 25-39 who living in cities of 100,000 or more confirm the higher educational achievements, occupational standing and earnings of many of these groups. Much of these labor market achievements reflect the educational characteristics of the Asian origin 1.5 and 2nd generation; however some groups – notably South Koreans and Chinese from HK and PR still perform marginally better in the labour force even after taking education into account. Overall our analysis shows the labor market success of these Asian Tigers while confirming the importance of education for their achievements.