Colombian immigrants in the United States of America : education levels, job qualifications and the decision to go back home

Medina-Durango, Carlos Alberto; Posso-Suárez, Christian Manuel

Colombian immigrants in the United States of America : education levels, job qualifications and the decision to go back home

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Revista Ensayos Sobre Política Económica; Vol. 29. No. 65. Junio, 2011. Pág.: 12-59.

Date published

2011-06-01

Date

2011-06

Authors

Medina-Durango, Carlos Alberto
Posso-Suárez, Christian Manuel

ISSN

0120-4483

Document language

eng

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Las opiniones contenidas en el presente documento son responsabilidad exclusiva de los autores y no comprometen al Banco de la República ni a su Junta Directiva.

The opinions contained in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not commit Banco de la República or its Board of Directors.

Abstract

This document shows that Colombian immigrants, who returned to the country from the United States between 1990 and 2005, were on average less well-educated than those who decided to stay in the U.S. This is a fact that has contributed to emphasizing the positive selection made by Colombians when choosing the U.S. as their destination, and, as a result, has increased the net flight of human capital (the so-called brain drain). Although data does not allow us to include the quality of the jobs that immigrants are performing in the U.S. as a determinant of the decision to return, it allows us to show that Colombian immigrants are usually engaged in jobs that require qualifications commensurate with the level of education. We also provide evidence that Colombia is a net exporter of 5% of its population with a university or post-graduate degree.

Description

Este artículo muestra que los emigrantes colom¬bianos que retornaron al país desde los Estados Unidos entre 1990 y 2005, eran en promedio menos educados que los que decidieron permanecer en ese país. Este hecho ha contribuido a atenuar la selec¬ción positiva de colombianos que emigran a ese país, y como resultado, ha aumentado la salida neta de capital humano (la llamada fuga de cerebros). Aunque los datos no permiten incluir la calidad del trabajo que los emigrantes colombianos desem¬peñan en los Estados Unidos como determinante de la decisión de retornar, sí permiten mostrar que ellos desempeñan usualmente oficios que requieren de habilidades a la altura de su educación. También se presenta evidencia que muestra que Colombia es un exportador neto del 5% de su población con universidad o posgrado.