Do Employers in Myanmar Prefer Workers Who Accumulated Skills in More Advanced Countries? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Abstract

This paper presents results from a resume audit study to examine the demand for work experience accumulated in overseas labor markets relative to local labor market. This is the first labor market audit study performed in a developing country, and I discuss the challenges that must be considered in this context. Overall, I do not find statistically significant effects that foreign experience is favored by employers, but this aggregate effect masks heterogeneity. Specifically, software developers and programmers with foreign experience are highly favored by employers, particular if the experience has been gained in Singapore. The demand for Singapore experience among software developers and programmers is mainly driven by foreign employers. I also find that software developers and programmers living in a wealthy neighborhood receive as many first callbacks from employers as those having Singapore experience. The positive return to living in a wealthy neighborhood is mainly due to local employers. Among accountants and engineers, when using the full sample, I find no systematic and significant difference in callback rates between foreign and local applicants. When restricting the sample to job applications in which only one applicant (out of two applicants) receives callback from employers, I find a significant positive effect for engineers with foreign experience and a significant negative effect for accountants with foreign experience. I also find gender gaps in callback rates among accountants and engineers: female accountants are more likely to receive callback than male accountants; in contrast, female engineers are less likely to receive callbacks than male engineers.