Foreign-Born graduates and innovation: Evidence from an Australian skilled visa program

This paper estimates the effect of a skilled visa program that permits foreign-born graduates from Australian universities the right to temporarily live and work in Australia post-graduation on regional innovation outcomes. Our analysis combines data on innovation measures at the regional level with administrative data from the full population of approved Temporary Graduate visa applications. The empirical strategy accounts for the potential bias introduced by skilled foreign-born students sorting into innovative regions by using an instrumental variables strategy. Results show a positive impact of the visa program on the number of patent applications, indicating a positive impact of the skilled immigration visa program on regional innovation. We find no impact of the Temporary Graduate Visa program on the number of design rights or trademarks.