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Feng Hou

Statistics Canada, Canada

IZA World of Labor is a great avenue to effectively synthesize and disseminate research findings

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Principal Researcher, Statistics Canada

Research interest

Immigration, racial minorities, urban residential patterns, applied quantitative methods

Website

https://www.uvic.ca/socialsciences/sociology/people/faculty/other-faculty/houfeng.php

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Principal Researcher, Statistics Canada

Past positions

Adjunct Professor of Sociology, University of Victoria, Canada; Adjunct Professor of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, Canada

Qualifications

PhD Sociology, University of Western Ontario, 1997

Selected publications

  • "Cross-country variation in interracial marriage: A USA-Canada comparison of metropolitan areas." Ethnic and Racial Studies 38:9 (2015): 1591–1609 (with Z. Wu, M. Schimmele, and J. Myles).

  • "Selections before the selection: The earnings advantage of host-country work experience before permanent residence.” International Migration Review 52:3 (2018): 695–723 (with A. Bonikowska).

  • "Life satisfaction among immigrants to Canada: Are immigrants more satisfied with their life than their source-country counterparts?" Journal of Happiness Studies (2015) (with K. Frank and G. Schellenberg).

  • "International students, immigration and earnings growth: The effect of a pre-immigration host-country university education.” IZA Journal of Development and Migration 7:5 (2017): 1–24 (with Y. Lu).

  • “Changing immigrant characteristics and pre-landing Canadian earnings: Their effect on entry earnings over the 1990s and 2000s.” Canadian Public Policy 42:3 (2016): 308–232 (with G. Picot)

article(s)

  • Why do STEM immigrants do better in one country than another?

    Where STEM immigrants were educated strongly influences their economic success and possibly their impact on innovation

    Garnett PicotFeng Hou, April 2019
    Canada, the US, and most Western countries are looking to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) immigrants to boost innovation and economic growth. Canada in particular has welcomed many STEM immigrants over the past quarter of a century. In the US, there is an ongoing debate about whether the H–1B visa program is being used effectively to attract more STEM immigrants. Interestingly, significant differences exist between the two countries in earnings and likely the innovation activity of highly educated immigrants, which highlights the likely role of immigration policy in determining such outcomes.
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