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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Alan Manning; Sanchari Roy |
| Abstract: | There is economic evidence that diversity has consequences for economic performance (see Alesinaand La Ferrara, 2005). This might have consequences for immigration policy - how many immigrantsto allow into a country and from what cultural background. But, central to such a discussion is thepace of cultural assimilation among immigrants - this under-researched topic is the focus of thispaper. It investigates the extent and determinants of British identity among those living in Britain andthe views on rights and responsibilities in societies. We find no evidence for a culture clash in general,and one connected with Muslims in particular. The vast majority of those born in Britain, of whateverethnicity or religion, think of themselves as British and we find evidence that third-generationimmigrants are more likely to think of themselves as British than second generation. Newly arrivedimmigrants almost never think of themselves as British but the longer they remain in the UK, themore likely it is that they do. This process of assimilation is faster for those from poorer and lessdemocratic countries, even though immigrants from these countries are often regarded as a particularcause for concern. Our analysis of rights and responsibilities finds much smaller differences in viewsbetween the UK-born and immigrants than within the UK-born population. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Identity, Assimilation |
| JEL: | J61 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0790&r=mig |
| By: | Gil S. Epstein (Bar-Ilan University, CReAM and IZA); Odelia Heizler (Cohen) (Bar-Ilan University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the connection between illegal migration, minimum wages and enforcement policy. We first explore the employers’ decision regarding the employment of illegal migrants in the presence of an effective minimum wage. We show that the employers’ decision depends on the wage gap between those of the legal and illegal workers and on the penalty for employing illegal workers. We consider the effects a change in the minimum wage has on the employment of illegal immigrants and local workers. We conclude by considering the optimal migration policy taking into consideration social welfare issues. |
| Keywords: | illegal immigration, migration policy, minimum wage, interest groups |
| JEL: | E24 F22 J31 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2830&r=mig |
| By: | Maurice Schiff (World Bank and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Host countries have implemented permanent and guest-worker (GW) immigration programs in recent decades, while the temporary movement of service providers under Mode IV of the GATS is one of the issues being negotiated at the Doha Round of the WTO. Though decisions on what programs to adopt have acquired increased urgency, the task has been complicated by host countries’ concern with migrants’ massive overstaying in past GW programs. This paper contributes to the debate by examining these migration regimes in a model in which the host country maximizes an objective function with respect to i) the size of the migration program, and - in the case of temporary migration - ii) the value of a bond employers must buy and iii) the share of migrants’ income whose payment is deferred. The maximization also takes into account the impact of the policy on source country cooperation on illegal immigration, migrants’ incentives and their preference for overstaying. The model solves for the policy measures, the overstaying probability, and the level of illegal migration. The paper concludes that the optimal policy is a combination of Mode IV-type and permanent migration. |
| Keywords: | policy, immigration, permanent, guest-worker, Mode IV, illegal, cooperation |
| JEL: | F20 F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2871&r=mig |
| By: | Bernt Bratsberg (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Oddbjørn Raaum (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Knut Røed (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research and IZA) |
| Abstract: | We find that the lifecycle employment profiles of nonwestern male labor migrants who came to Norway in the early 1970s diverge significantly from those of native comparison persons. During the first years after arrival almost all of the immigrants worked and their employment rate exceeded that of natives. But, about ten years upon arrival, immigrant employment started a sharp and steady decline. By 2000, the immigrant employment rate was 50 percent, compared to 87 percent for the native comparison group. To some extent, the decline in immigrant employment can be explained by immigrants being overrepresented in jobs associated with short employment careers. But we also identify considerable disincentives embedded in the social security system that contribute to poor lifecycle employment performance of immigrants with many dependent family members. Finally, we uncover evidence that labor immigrants are particularly vulnerable to the state of the economy and face a high probability of permanent exit from employment during economic downturns. |
| Keywords: | labor migration, labor market outcomes |
| JEL: | F22 H55 J21 J61 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2872&r=mig |
| By: | Subhayu Bandyopadhyay (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and IZA); Howard J. Wall (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a model of legal migration from one source country to two host countries, both of which can control their levels of immigration. Because of complementarities between capital and labor, the return on capital is positively related to the level of immigration. Consequently, when capital is immobile, host nations’ optimal levels of immigration are positively related to their capital endowments. Further, when capital is mobile between the two host nations, the common return on capital is a function of the levels of immigration in both countries, meaning that immigration is a public good. As a result, when immigration imposes costs on host countries, the Nash equilibrium results in free riding and less immigration than would occur in the cooperative equilibrium. These results are qualitatively unaltered when capital mobility extends to the source nation. |
| Keywords: | immigration, free riding, externalities, capital mobility |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2825&r=mig |
| By: | David Card (UC Berkeley) |
| Abstract: | In the past 25 years immigration has re-emerged as a driving force in the size and composition of U.S. cities. This paper describes the effects of immigration on overall population growth and the skill composition of cities, focusing on the connection between immigrant inflows and the relative number of less-skilled workers in the local population. The labor market impacts of immigrant arrivals can be offset by outflows of natives and earlier generations of immigrants. Empirically, however, these offsetting flows are small, so most cities with higher rates of immigration have experienced overall population growth and a rising share of the less-skilled. These supply shifts are associated with a modest widening of the wage gap between more- and less-skilled natives, coupled with a positive effect on average native wages. Beyond the labor market, immigrant arrivals also affect rents and housing prices, government revenues and expenses, and the composition of neighborhoods and schools. The effect on rents is the same magnitude as the effect on average wages, implying that the average “rent burden” (the ratio of rents to incomes) is roughly constant. The local fiscal effects of increased immigration also appear to be relatively small. The neighborhood and school externalities posed by the presence of low-income and minority families may be larger, and may be a key factor in understanding native reactions to immigration. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Labour Market Impact, Skill Groups |
| JEL: | J21 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:0711&r=mig |
| By: | Thomas K. Bauer; Deborah A. Cobb-Clark; Vincent Hildebrand; Mathias Sinning |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the source of the gap in the relative wealth position of immigrant households residing in Australia, Germany and the United States. Our results indicate that in Germany and the United States wealth differentials are largely the result of disparity in the educational attainment and demographic composition of the native and immigrant populations, while income differentials are relatively unimportant in understanding the nativity wealth gap. In contrast, the relatively small wealth gap between Australian- and foreign-born households exists because immigrants to Australia do not translate their relative educational and demographic advantage into a wealth advantage. On balance, our results point to substantial cross-national disparity in the economic well-being of immigrant and native families, which is largely consistent with domestic labor markets and the selection policies used to shape the nature of the immigration flow. |
| Keywords: | international migration, wealth accumulation |
| JEL: | D31 F22 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:184&r=mig |
| By: | Lena Nekby (Stockholm University, SULCIS and IZA); Magnus Rödin (Stockholm University and SULCIS) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the identity formation of a cohort of students with immigrant backgrounds in Sweden and the consequences of identity for subsequent labor market outcomes. Unique for this study is that identity is defined according to a two-dimensional acculturation framework based on both strength of identity to the (ethnic) minority and to the (Swedish) majority culture. Results indicate that what matters for labor market outcomes is strength of identification with the majority culture regardless of strength of (ethnic) minority identity. Labor market outcomes vary little between the assimilated and the integrated who have in common a strong majority identity but varying minority identity. Correlations between identity and labor market outcomes are however, an entirely male phenomenon. |
| Keywords: | ethnic identity, acculturation, ethnic minorities, employment, income |
| JEL: | J15 J16 J21 Z13 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2826&r=mig |
| By: | Anna Maria Mayda (Georgetown University, CEPR, CReAM and IZA) |
| Abstract: | I analyze individual attitudes towards trade and immigration in comparative terms. I find that individuals are on average more pro-trade than pro-immigration across several countries. I identify a key source of this difference: the cleavage in trade preferences, absent in immigration attitudes, between individuals working in traded as opposed to non-traded sectors. |
| Keywords: | immigration attitudes, trade attitudes, political economy |
| JEL: | F22 F1 J61 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2855&r=mig |
| By: | Frédéric Docquier (FNRS, IRES, Université Catholique de Louvain and IZA); Hillel Rapoport (Bar-Ilan University and EQUIPPE, Universités de Lille) |
| Abstract: | This chapter focuses on the effects of skilled migration on developing countries. We first present new evidence on the magnitude of the -brain drain- at the international level. Using a stylized model of education investment in a context of migration, we then survey the theoretical and empirical brain drain literature in a unified framework. Finally we use a particular specification of the model to discuss a number of policy issues from the perspective of developing countries. |
| Keywords: | migration, brain drain, economic development |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2873&r=mig |
| By: | Alan Barrett (Economic and Social Research Institute and IZA); David Duffy (Economic and Social Research Institute) |
| Abstract: | Ireland has experienced a remarkable change in its migratory patterns in recent years and has moved from experiencing large-scale emigration to receiving significant inflows. In this paper, we use data from a nationally representative sample of immigrants and natives drawn in 2005 to assess the occupational attainment of immigrants in Ireland relative to natives. It is found that immigrants, on average, are less likely to be in high-level occupations controlling for factors such as age and education. When looked at by year of arrival, it appears as if immigrants who arrived more recently have lower occupational attainment relative to earlier arrivals, thereby suggesting a process of integration. However, a closer analysis shows that the observation of better occupational attainment for earlier arrivals can be explained by a change in the national origin mix of Ireland’s immigrants, with immigrants from the New Member States of the European Union having the lowest occupational attainment. Within national groups there is generally no clear evidence of improved occupational attainment over time. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, labour market integration, Ireland |
| JEL: | J61 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2838&r=mig |
| By: | Benjamin Aleman-Castilla |
| Abstract: | Mexican migration to the United States has been a very important issue throughout the twentiethcentury, and its relevance has reached unprecedented levels during the last two decades. Even thoughthere is a huge body of literature that analyses many different aspects of this phenomenon, theeconomic performance of migrants with respect to the Mexican labour markets has received very littleattention. This paper aims at filling this gap by presenting new evidence on the effect that migration tothe United States has on labour market outcomes of Mexican workers. It uses data from the MexicanNational Survey of Urban Labour (ENEU) for the period 1994-2002. Among other advantages, thepanel structure of the survey is ideal for minimizing the problems of self-selection bias that arecommon in most of the alternative data sources. Fixed-effects estimation indicates that Mexicanworkers that migrate temporarily to the United States obtain significantly higher earnings in the U.S.labour market than in the Mexican one during the period of migration. They also tend to work longerhours and face a generally higher likelihood of non employment during the period of return migration.Finally, the gains from temporary migration are lower for more skilled workers and for thosemigrating from the most distant regions in Mexico, relative to the United States. |
| Keywords: | temporary migration, real wages, labour supply |
| JEL: | J61 J22 J15 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0804&r=mig |
| By: | Govert E. Bijwaard (Erasmus University Rotterdam and IZA) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze the demographic factors that influence the migration dynamics of recent immigrants to The Netherlands. We show how we can allow for both permanent and temporary migrants. Based on data from Statistics Netherlands we analyze both the departure and the return from abroad for recent non-Dutch immigrants to The Netherlands. Results disclose differences among migrants by migration motive and by country of origin and lend support to our analytical framework. Combining both models, for departure and returning, provides the probability that a specific migrant ends-up in The Netherlands. It also yields a framework for predicting the migration dynamics over the life-cycle. We can conclude that for a complete view of the migration dynamics it is important to allow for both permanent (stayers) migrants and temporary (movers) migrants and that return from abroad should not be neglected. |
| Keywords: | return migration, migration dynamics |
| JEL: | F22 J10 C41 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2891&r=mig |
| By: | Kao-Lee Liaw; Lei Xu |
| Abstract: | Based on the longitudinal Immigration Data Base, this research found that the post-landing interprovincial migration of newly landed immigrants led to a further concentration in Ontario and British Columbia. Underlying this pattern was the fact that each of these two provinces had a relatively strong economy, large immigrant communities, and a major international airport. This further concentration of relocating immigrants is problematic in the sense that it contributed to the weakening of the political powers of the economically weak provinces. With respect to immigration classes, the interprovincial net transfer was much stronger for those in the investor, entrepreneur, and refugee classes than for those in the family and assisted relative classes. The research also suggested that the deconcentration and widespread dispersal in the 1995-2000 interstate migration of the immigrants in the U.S. can not serve as a harbinger for a general reversal in the interprovincial migration of immigrants in Canada. |
| Keywords: | post-landing migration, immigrants, Canada, immigration class |
| JEL: | R23 F22 O15 J11 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:194&r=mig |
| By: | Lei Xu |
| Abstract: | Based on the tabulations of the IMDB, I characterized, explained and compared the 1991-1996 and 1996-2001 inter-CMA migration of the immigrants in Canada. The spatial and temporal patterns were consistent with the neoclassical economic theory and the ethnic enclave theory. In making their decisions on departure and destination choices, the immigrants (both the 1991 landing cohort and 1996 cohort) were responsive to income and employment incentives, as well as the retaining and attracting powers of ethnic communities. This research also discovered an interesting temporal pattern -- while the inter-CMA migration of immigrants accentuated the over representation of the immigrants in Toronto and Vancouver in the 91-96 period, the rise of the “secondary” CMAs led to a spatial dispersal of the immigrants in the 96-01 period. This “new” finding supplements the existing literature on internal migration of Canadian immigrants, which discovered little evidence of an increased dispersion of immigrants over time. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, immigrants, Canada, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) |
| JEL: | R23 F22 O15 J11 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:195&r=mig |
| By: | Lei Xu |
| Abstract: | Based on the primary micro data files of the 2001 Canadian census, I investigated the 1996-2001 internal migration patterns of the 2nd generation, in comparison to those of the 1st, 1.5, and 3rd+ generations. In the descriptive analysis, I found that the overall out-migration rate increased monotonically with an increase in generation status. However, with the exception of Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, the CMA specific out-migration rate generally decreased with an increase in generation status. In terms of in-migration, Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary were the predominant destinations for all generations. In the multivariate analysis, I found that the different generations were subject to the effects of the same set of explanatory factors -- labor market factors, ethnic similarity factor, and personal factors. Compared to the first generation immigrants, the second generation was less dependent on ethnic communities and more sensitive to the changing spatial economy of the CMA system. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, second generation, immigrants, Canada |
| JEL: | R23 F22 O15 J11 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:196&r=mig |
| By: | Lei Xu; Kao-Lee Liaw |
| Abstract: | Using a multinomial logit model, this paper explains the initial destination choices of skilled-worker immigrants from four South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) who landed in Canada in 1992-2001, based on the micro data of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. We found that their choice pattern, which is characterized by extremely strong concentration in Ontario, was strongly affected by the attractions of (1) co-ethnic communities and (2) long-term income opportunities represented by earned income per capita. The temporal pattern of their choices was subject to the lagged effects of the fluctuations in the spatial pattern of employment opportunities in an economically sensible but relatively mild way. The enhancement of Quebec’s attraction by the Canada/Quebec agreement on immigration dissipated within only a few years. |
| Keywords: | Canadian immigrants, South Asia, destination choices |
| JEL: | R23 F22 O15 J11 |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:sedapp:193&r=mig |
| By: | Samuel Bentolila; Juan J. Dolado; Juan F. Jimeno |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the evolution of the Phillips Curve (PC) for the Spanish economy since 1980. In particular, we focus on what has happened since the late 1990s. Since 1999 the unemployment rate has fallen by almost 7 percentage points, while inflation has remained relatively subdued around a plateau of 2%- 4%. Thus, the slope of the PC has become much flatter. We argue that this favorable evolution is largely due to the huge rise in the immigration rate, from 1% of the population in 1994 to 9.3% in 2006. We derive a New Keynesian Phillips curve accounting for the e¤ects of immigration, a variable which is found to shift the curve if preferences and bargaining power of immigrants and natives di¤er. We then estimate this curve for Spain since 1980 and find that while the fall in unemployment over the last 8 years comes along with an increase in inflation of 2.2 percentage points per year, the increase of the relative unemployment rate of immigrants vis-à-vis natives accounts for an ofsetting 0.9 percentage points drop in the inflation rate per year. |
| Keywords: | Phillips curve, immigration |
| JEL: | E31 J64 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1333&r=mig |
| By: | Rainald Borck (University of Munich and DIW Berlin); Michael Pflüger (University of Passau, DIW Berlin and IZA); Matthias Wrede (RWTH Aachen University and CESifo) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a simple theory of geographical mobility which simultaneously explains people’s choice of residences in space and the location of industry. Residences are chosen on the basis of the utility which mobile households obtain across locations. The spatial pattern of industry is determined by the location decision of a scarce essential factor of production which seeks to obtain the highest possible economic return. Our theory comprehends applications to commuting and physical capital mobility. Referring to the decline in mobility costs, we are able to explain that long-distance commuting and foreign direct investment have increased and that industrial activity has become more concentrated both within as well as across countries. |
| Keywords: | agglomeration, labour mobility, capital mobility, industry location, migration, commuting |
| JEL: | F12 F21 F22 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2862&r=mig |
| By: | Olivier Deschenes; Enrico Moretti |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of extreme weather on life expectancy in the US. Using high frequency mortality data, we find that both extreme heat and extreme cold result in immediate increases in mortality. However, the increase in mortality following extreme heat appears entirely driven by temporal displacement, while the increase in mortality following extreme cold is long lasting. The aggregate effect of cold on mortality is quantitatively large. We estimate that the number of annual deaths attributable to cold temperature is 27,940 or 1.3% of total deaths in the US. This effect is even larger in low income areas. Because the U.S. population has been moving from cold Northeastern states to the warmer Southwestern states, our findings have implications for understanding the causes of long-term increases in life expectancy. We calculate that every year, 5,400 deaths are delayed by changes in exposure to cold temperature induced by mobility. These longevity gains associated with long term trends in geographical mobility account for 8%-15% of the total gains in life expectancy experienced by the US population over the past 30 years. Thus mobility is an important but previously overlooked determinant of increased longevity in the United States. We also find that the probability of moving to a state that has fewer days of extreme cold is higher for the age groups that are predicted to benefit more in terms of lower mortality compared to the age groups that are predicted to benefit less. |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13227&r=mig |
| By: | Cecile Wetzels (FEE, University of Amsterdam and IZA) |
| Abstract: | We analyze first time parents’ work patterns. Little empirical work exists on the influence of the partner’s (change of) employment status. There is no study known to us that investigates the effects of the family’s immigrant background. This study explores both issues in addition to the effects of human capital, the mother’s partner not sharing the household, the women’s breastfeeding intentions and practices. We use panel data of 2003-2004 on families in Amsterdam at early pregnancy and at the time the infant is 3-5 months (when the Dutch family has to "choose" its paid parental work arrangement). Fathers do change their working hours after the birth of the first child. Only the father’s reduction of working for pay, to 25-32 hours per week after the birth of the first child, makes it more likely that the mother starts work when the infant is 3-5 months old. Furthermore, being a female, first generation immigrant has an independent - negative - effect, beyond human capital and other family characteristics, on the decision to work when pregnant and when the infant is 3-5 months old. Similarly, a partner born abroad has an independent, negative effect on the Dutch born - with Dutch born parents - mother’s timing of her return to work. Dutch social policies seem to some extent successful in obtaining the sharing of parental unpaid infant care. Yet, they created by stressing own responsibility only an opportunity and potential benefits for children and parents for those families who can (and dare to) afford. |
| Keywords: | part time work, parenthood, gender, the Netherlands, immigrant background, ethnicity |
| JEL: | J13 J15 J16 J18 J24 J21 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2853&r=mig |
| By: | Flytzani, Stella (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics); Nijkamp, Peter |
| Abstract: | International labour mobility is becoming a key feature of a globalizing world. There is an increasing amount of literature on the success and failure conditions of migrant workers. A particular class of foreign workers is formed by so-called expatriates who are sent on a temporary basis (several years normally) by a parent company located in a given country to live and work in another country, notably as an employee in a subsidiary abroad. This paper aims to investigate the performance of expatriate managers by explaining their cross-cultural adjustment potential from their personal management style features. These features are derived from the concept of locus of control in social learning theory, in which two types of responses to challenges are distinguished: internals (controlling events themselves) and externals (following outside forces). Based on a sample of 43 individuals, our study concludes that managers with an internal locus of control are more successful in coping with the difficulties inherent in adjusting to a foreign culture. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:vuarem:2007-7&r=mig |