Returns to education and labour market outcomes for refugees in Australia

In recent years, the issue of refugee resettlement has been one of the biggest policy questions in developed countries such as Australia. Previous research has focused largely on the economic impact of resettling refugees once they have arrived in Australia.

Using panel data, this project investigates the factors affecting successful labour market outcomes for refugees in Australia. A particular focus is on the role of education and skills acquisition before and after settlement in Australia. We will also combine other data sets with the refugee panel.

The student will gain skills in applied economics and how it can be used to answer social science and policy questions. The student will earn experience in data manipulation and the identification of causal effects, particularly for panel data sets. The student will also develop experience in merging and cleaning multiple data sets. There is the possibility that continued collaboration will develop into scientific journal publications.

This project is particularly suited to students with a strong interest in applied economics and panel data. Familiarity with the statistical software package Stata is a must.

Students are encouraged to contact the supervisor via email if they have any questions: d.smerdon@uq.edu.au