This study examines the economic returns to schooling acquired in the country of origin and the country of destination. It uses large-scale survey data on Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese and Antillean immigrants in the Netherlands, which contain direct measures of pre- and post-migration schooling. It is studied whether the returns to origin-country schooling depend on contextual factors: i.e., immigrant group and the region of living. Furthermore, we examine the importance of host-country schooling for labor market outcomes and if these can be partly explained by increasing contacts with natives. Results show that the returns to origin-country schooling are higher for Surinamese and Antillean immigrants (i.e., those originating from former Dutch colonies) than for immigrants from Turkey and Morocco. The returns to origin-country schooling are not affected by ethnic concentration in the region of living. Finally, it appears that the returns to host-country schooling are much larger than to origin-country schooling, and the higher returns to host-country schooling cannot be explained by increased social contacts with natives.
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