Fact or Fable?: The Consequences of Migration for Educational Achievement and Labor Market Participation

Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, people moved from the Pacific Islands to New Zealand in the expectation that their children would enjoy improved life chances, which they believed would follow from improved quality and availability of formal education in New Zealand. The greater educational opportunities would be translated into improved opportunities in the labor market in the form of higher incomes, higher levels of labor market participation, and upward occupational mobility. This paper explores the origins of these beliefs about education and uses statistical data to establish whether the migrants' expectations were realized.