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Sholeh A. Maani

University of Auckland, New Zealand, and IZA, Germany

I am very pleased to be a part of this project. IZA World of Labor articles combine the latest evidence-based research with policy advice. The series is valued by researchers and policymakers

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Management, University of Auckland

Research interest

Labor economics, migration, human capital, ethnicity, gender, and earnings

Website

https://profiles.auckland.ac.nz/s-maani/about

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

OECD Paris: Consultant and country-specific research advisor: Thematic Country Report for New Zealand on Skills, and Youth Labour Market Analysis, 2006–2008; Research advisor and consultant to the New Zealand government on labor market and higher education policies at various times

Past positions

Associate Professor, Economics Department, University of Auckland (1998-2013); Visiting Professor, School of Economics, University of Queensland (2010); Visiting Scholar, Economics Department, Harvard University, and the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) (1991-1992)

Qualifications

PhD Economics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA

Selected publications

  • "Ethnic capital and self-employment: A spatially autoregressive network approach." IZA Journal of Migration 3:18 (2014): 1–24 (with X. Wang).

  • "Academic performance, childhood economic resources, and the choice to leave school at age 16." Economics of Education Review 26:2 (2007): 361–374 (with G. Kalb).

  • "Why have Maori relative income levels deteriorated over time?" Economic Record 80:248 (2004): 100–123.

  • "Are young first and second generation immigrants at a disadvantage in the Australian labour market?" International Migration Review 28:4 (1994): 865–882.

  • "Uncertainty, information, and hedonic pricing." Land Economics 68:2 (1992): 170–184 (with S. Kask).

article(s)

  • Ethnic networks and location choice of immigrants

    Ethnic capital produced by local concentration of immigrants generates greater economic activity

    Sholeh A. Maani, August 2016
    Immigrants can initially face significant difficulties integrating into the economy of the host country, due to information gaps about the local labor market, limited language proficiency, and unfamiliarity with the local culture. Settlement in a region where economic and social networks based on familiar cultural or language factors (“ethnic capital”) exist provides an effective strategy for economic integration. As international migration into culturally diverse countries increases, ethnic networks will be important considerations in managing immigration selection, language proficiency requirements, and regional economic policies.
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