The relative quality of foreign-educated nurses in the United States

P Cortés, J Pan - Journal of Human Resources, 2015 - jhr.uwpress.org
Journal of Human Resources, 2015jhr.uwpress.org
We examine the relative quality of foreign-educated nurses using wages as a measure of
skill. Philippine-educated nurses enjoy a wage premium that is not explained by observed
differences in worker or job characteristics. We reconcile the results with a Roy model
featuring endogenous skill acquisition and provide some empirical evidence of double-
selection into nursing and migration. Our results suggest that the wage premium is likely
driven by strong positive selection into nursing among Filipinos resulting from high and …
We examine the relative quality of foreign-educated nurses using wages as a measure of skill. Philippine-educated nurses enjoy a wage premium that is not explained by observed differences in worker or job characteristics. We reconcile the results with a Roy model featuring endogenous skill acquisition and provide some empirical evidence of double-selection into nursing and migration. Our results suggest that the wage premium is likely driven by strong positive selection into nursing among Filipinos resulting from high and heterogeneous returns to the occupation due to active government support for nurse migration in the Philippines.
jhr.uwpress.org