The Effects of Birthplace on Male Earnings in Australia.

This paper uses the human capital model in a study of the effects of birthplace on the earnings of full-time adult male employees in Australia. Migrants, who make up 21 percent of the population, are divided into two groups, English speaking and non-English speaking, according to the language of their country of origin. No evidence was found of wage discrimination against English speaking migrants, but discrimination against non-English speaking migrants was found to be higher than previously believed. The most disadvantaged male migrant group is non-English speaking migrants without tertiary qualifications. Copyright 1988 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd/University of Adelaide and Flinders University of South Australia