Immigrant wages in The Netherlands: The valuation of pre- and postimmigration human capital

Summary This article presents an empirical analysis of the wages of male immigrants from The Netherlands Antilles, Surinam, Turkey and Morocco living in The Netherlands. The principal findings of the study are the following. Educational attainment before and after immigration is equally productive for the Antilleans and the Surinamese only. Among Mediterraneans, only Dutch school years of Moroccans exert significant wage effects. The Dutch labour market rewards experience accumulated after immigration at a higher rate than foreign experience. Of the differences in observed characteristics, that in the number of Dutch school years is most important in explaining wage inequality across immigrant groups.Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the ECOZOEK-dag 1989, Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen, and at the 1989 Econometric Society European Meeting, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. I appreciate comments from Christian Mulder at the latter meeting. I would also like to thank Joop Hartog, Hessel Oosterbeek and a referee of this journal for their comments on earlier drafts. This research was financed by NWO-Stichting ECOZOEK.