Educational Mismatch on Both Ends: A Sequence Analysis of Labor Trajectories of South-South Migration in Montevideo

Victoria Prieto Rosas, Universidad de la Republica
Mariana Fernandez Soto , Universidad de la Republica
Julieta Bengochea, Universidad de la República
Clara Márquez Scotti, Departamento de Trabajo Social, Universidad de la República

The educational mismatch is a well-documented issue among newly arrived refugee and migrant populations, and research mostlly focuses on cross-sectional analysis paying little attention to labor trajectories before migration. However, examining labor trajectories at origin and path dependency in explaining outcomes regarding educational mismatch at the destination is of utmost importance in segmented labor markets involving south-south migration flows. To this end we use retrospective labor trajectory data to examine the persistence of educational (mis)match from the origin to the destination, using data from the 2018 Ethnosurvey on Recent Immigration for Dominican, Peruvian, and Venezuelan migrants residing in Montevideo. We apply sequence analysis techniques, including optimal matching and Ward clustering, to identify predominant educational (mis)match trajectories at the origin and the destination. Preliminary findings suggest educational mismatches at both ends. Overeducation after migration is observed often among those with long-term matching or out-of-labor-force backgrounds, but can also follow prior overeducation backgrounds from origin. Likewise, undereducation trajectories at the origin can be overcome or persist post-migration. Cluster analysis of pre-migration and post-migration trajectories indicates stability and limited occupational mobility at both ends. This paper contributes to further studies on the life course impacts of migration, with a special focus on individuals who experience mobility across segmented labor markets.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session P3. Migration, Economics, Policies, History