Do host country education and language training help recent immigrants exit poverty?

Despite growing interest in host country-specific skills, quantitative assessments of the economic benefit of host country education and training for immigrants are limited. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the impacts of host country formal education and language training on the exit from family poverty among recently arrived immigrant adults. The bivariate probit model and propensity weighting approach are used to analyze data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada. Results suggest that while English/French language training is beneficial for low income recent immigrants in general, host country education benefits only highly educated recent arrivals. This study underscores the importance of considering immigrants' selectivity into host country education and training, as simple regression analysis can improperly estimate their true benefits.