Immigrant Skill Selection: A Case Study of South Africa and the USA

This paper studies how economic, educational, political, geographic, and demographic factors are associated with immigrant skill selection in South Africa and the USA to test the theories related to immigrant selection in the two different destination countries. I use data from South Africa's 2011 census and the American Community Survey for 2007-2011. The analytical sample includes immigrants in South Africa and the USA who migrated at age 25 or older from Europe, Africa, and Asia from 1990 to 2011. The study found that the conventional theories in migrant selection do not hold for international migration between developing countries. More extensive Asian Diaspora in South Africa was associated with the emigration of more highly educated Asians. Lower GDP per capita in African countries was associated with more educated emigration to South Africa. The findings also suggest that for developing countries, such as the ones in Africa and Asia, better economic equality and political stability might help prevent brain drain.