nep-mig New Economics Papers
on Economics of Human Migration
Issue of 2009‒06‒17
four papers chosen by
Yuji Tamura
Australian National University

  1. Why Do Skilled Immigrants Struggle in the Labor Market? A Field Experiment with Six Thousand Resumes By Philip Oreopoulos
  2. Equipping Immigrants: Migration Flows and Capital Movements By Fabian Lange; Douglas Gollin
  3. On the Macroeconomic and Welfare Effects of Illegal Immigration By Liu, Xiangbo
  4. Rimesse e relazioni bancarie: da un bisogno elementare a servizi più articolati lungo il ciclo vitale By Luisa ANDERLONI

  1. By: Philip Oreopoulos
    Abstract: Thousands of resumes were sent in response to online job postings across multiple occupations in Toronto to investigate why Canadian immigrants, allowed in based on skill, struggle in the labor market. Resumes were constructed to plausibly represent recent immigrants under the point system from the three largest countries of origin (China, India, and Pakistan) and Britain, as well as non-immigrants with and without ethnic-sounding names. In addition to names, I randomized where applicants received their undergraduate degree, whether their job experience was gained in Toronto or Mumbai (or another foreign city), whether they listed being fluent in multiple languages (including French). The study produced four main findings: 1) Interview request rates for English-named applicants with Canadian education and experience were more than three times higher compared to resumes with Chinese, Indian, or Pakistani names with foreign education and experience (5 percent versus 16 percent), but were no different compared to foreign applicants from Britain. 2) Employers valued experience acquired in Canada much more than if acquired in a foreign country. Changing foreign resumes to include only experience from Canada raised callback rates to 11 percent. 3) Among resumes listing 4 to 6 years of Canadian experience, whether an applicant’s degree was from Canada or not, or whether the applicant obtained additional Canadian education or not had no impact on the chances for an interview request. 4) Canadian applicants that differed only by name had substantially different callback rates: Those with English-sounding names received interview requests 40 percent more often than applicants with Chinese, Indian, or Pakistani names (16 percent versus 11 percent). Overall, the results suggest considerable employer discrimination against applicants with ethnic names or with experience from foreign firms.
    JEL: J15 J31 J7 K31
    Date: 2009–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15036&r=mig
  2. By: Fabian Lange (Department of Economics, Yale University); Douglas Gollin (Department of Economics, Williams College)
    Abstract: This paper explores the extent to which migration-related capital flows can explain the variation in investment rates and current and capital account imbalances across OECD countries. Migrants must be equipped with machines, and the resulting demands for capital are likely, all else being equal, to generate cross-border flows of capital. We analyze and test the empirical predictions of a simple model with endogenous capital and labor flows. This model allows for exogenous variation in the supply of migrant labor as well as in local production conditions. Empirically, the observed correlations in investment rates, capital and labor flows can best be explained by an inelastic supply of migrant labor and large exogenous variation in local production conditions over time compared to the exogenous variation in the supply of migrant labor. We then examine how much the increase in net migration rates contributed to the increase in the US current account deficit since 1960. Between 1960 and 2000, the US current account declined by about 4% of annual GDP. The increase in migration contributed about 1% of GDP to this decline.
    Date: 2008–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:200914&r=mig
  3. By: Liu, Xiangbo
    Abstract: This paper investigates the macroeconomic and welfare effects of illegal immigration on the native born within a dynamic general equilibrium framework with labor market frictions. A key feature of the model is that job competition is allowed for between domestic workers and illegal immigrants. We calibrate the model to match some key statistics of the postwar U.S. economy. The model predicts that in the long run illegal immigration is a boon, but the employment opportunities of domestic workers are strongly negatively affected. The model also predicts that the level of domestic consumption has a U-shaped relationship with the share of illegal immigrants.
    Keywords: Economic Growth; Immigration; Welfare; Search; Unemployment
    JEL: F22 O41 J64
    Date: 2009–05–28
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:15469&r=mig
  4. By: Luisa ANDERLONI
    Abstract: The paper analyses the demand of remittance services within a framework that considers a wider range of migrants’ financial needs and how this demand evolves along the life cycle and in relation to the immigration project. It also studies the key issues of the regulation both at international level and at national level with reference to the Italian context.
    Keywords: Migrants and financial services, Money transfer, Regulation of payments services, Remittances
    JEL: G20 G28
    Date: 2007–06–27
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mil:wpdepa:2007-25&r=mig

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