The qualitative transformation of labor migration from the Ottoman Empire and Türkiye to the United States: Research on permanence and brain waste

In this study, the transformation of the qualification level of labor migration from the Ottoman Empire and Türkiye to the USA from past to present and the impact of the human capital characteristics of the immigrant workforce on their permanence in the US labor markets and on brain waste are examined. In this context, the first chapter reveals the reasons for labor migration from the Ottoman Empire and Türkiye to the USA from the 19th century to the present and the transformation in the qualification level of the immigrant workforce. The second and third parts of the study are devoted to empirical analyses. In the second part, the human capital level of labor migration from the Ottoman Empire to the USA and its permanence in labor markets are examined using 1900 and 1910 US Census data. Multiple regression analysis was performed in the relevant section. According to the findings of the study, despite the differences between ethnic groups, the majority of people who immigrated from the Ottoman Empire to the USA were unskilled professionals and as a result of this situation, the problem of low wages was encountered. On the other hand, as the skill level and literacy rate increased, the wages and probability of permanence of Ottoman Empire immigrants increased. In the third part of the study, the effect of the human capital level of the workforce migrating from Türkiye to the USA on brain waste is examined using American Community Survey data between 2000 and 2019. In this section, primarily the Job Analysis Method and the Realized Matches Method were used to determine the brain waste situation of Turkish immigrants. Afterwards, the logit model was preferred to reveal the effect of the human capital characteristics of Turkish immigrants on the possibility of being exposed to brain waste. According to the findings of the study, as the education level of the Turkish immigrant workforce increases, the probability of being exposed to brain waste in the US labor markets increases, while as the ability to speak English increases, the probability of being exposed to brain waste in the US labor markets decreases. On the other hand, contrary to expectations, as the duration of residence of the Turkish immigrant workforce in the USA increases, the possibility of being exposed to brain waste in the US labor markets also increases.