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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Andre Barreira da Silva Rocha |
| Abstract: | I use evolutionary game theory to address the relation between nationalism and immigration, studying how two different populations in a country, one composed of national citizens and the other of immigrants, evolve over time. Both populations depart from some polymorphic initial state. A national citizen may behave either nationalistically or may welcome immigrants. Immigrants may have an interest in learning the host country language or not. I also account for the presence of enclaves, which make the immigrants’ own population effects important. The results show that six types of evolutionary equilibria are possible, although they never co-exist in the state space. A low cost of learning the host country language leads to complete assimilation of immigrants over time. Enclaves make assimilation a less competitive strategy. A high cost of learning may lead to peaceful multiculturalism or to political instability depending on the ability of policy makers to prevent nationalistic attitudes. |
| Date: | 2010–11–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:694&r=mig |
| By: | Marina Murat; Davide Ferrari; Patrizio Frederic; Giulia Pirani |
| Abstract: | Using data from PISA 2006, we examine the performance of immigrant students in different international educational environments. Our results show smaller immigrant gaps – differences in scores with respect to natives - where educational systems are more flexible and students’ mobility between courses and school programs is higher. Unlike previous studies, our analysis reveals no direct relation between these gaps and education models, be they comprehensive or tracking, adopted by countries |
| Keywords: | International migration; educational systems; PISA; |
| JEL: | F22 I21 |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:depeco:0637&r=mig |
| By: | Slobodan Djajic; Michael S. Michael |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the interaction between migration policies of the host and source countries in the context of a model of guest-worker migration. For the host, the objective is to provide low-cost labor for its employers while avoiding illegal immigration. It optimizes over these objectives by setting the time limit of a guest-worker permit. The source country seeks remittance flows and return migration by offering fiscal benefits to returnees. Within this framework, we solve for the Nash equilibrium values of the migration policy instruments and compare them, to the extent possible, with the ones that emerge in a cooperative setting. |
| Keywords: | Temporary Migration, Remittances, Migration Policy |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucy:cypeua:05-2011&r=mig |
| By: | Docquier, Frederic; Lodigiani, Elisabetta; Rapoport, Hillel; Schiff, Maurice |
| Abstract: | Migration is an important yet neglected determinant of institutions. This paper documents the channels through which emigration affects home country institutions and considers dynamic-panel regressions for a large sample of developing countries. The authors find that emigration and human capital both increase democracy and economic freedom. This implies that unskilled (skilled) emigration has a positive (ambiguous) impact on institutional quality. Simulations show an impact of skilled emigration that is generally positive, significant for a few countries and for many countries once incentive effects of emigration on human capital formation are accounted for. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Economic Theory&Research,International Migration,Human Migrations&Resettlements,Voluntary and Involuntary Resettlement |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5557&r=mig |
| By: | Holst, Elke (DIW Berlin); Schäfer, Andrea (University of Bremen); Schrooten, Mechthild (University of Applied Sciences Bremen) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we focus on network- and gender-specific determinants of remittances, which are often explained theoretically by way of intra-family contracts. We develop a basic formal concept that includes aspects of the transnational network and derive hypotheses from it. For our empirical investigation, we use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the years 2001-2006. Our findings show: first, the fact that foreign women remit less money than foreign men can be explained by the underlying transnational network contract. Second, remittances sent by foreigners and naturalized immigrants have at least partly different determinants. Acquiring German citizenship increases the probability of family reunification in the destination country and decreases remittances. Third, the structure of the existing social network in Germany and the network structure in the home country both play important roles in explaining remittances. |
| Keywords: | remittances, gender, foreigners, naturalized migrants |
| JEL: | F22 J16 D13 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5472&r=mig |
| By: | Bonikowska, Aneta; Hou, Feng |
| Abstract: | Current knowledge about the favourable socioeconomic attainment (in education and earnings) among children of immigrants is based on the experiences of those individuals whose immigrant parents came to Canada before the 1970s. Since then, successive cohorts of adult immigrants have experienced deteriorating entry earnings. This has raised questions about whether the outcomes of their children have changed over time. This study shows that successive cohorts of childhood immigrants who arrived in Canada at age 12 or younger during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s had increasingly higher educational attainment (as measured by the share with university degrees) than their Canadian-born peers by age 25 to 34. Conditional on education and other background characteristics, male childhood immigrants who arrived in the 1960s earned less than the Canadian-born comparison group, but the two subsequent cohorts had similar earnings as the comparison group. Female childhood immigrants earned as much as the Canadian-born comparison group, except for the 1980s cohort, which earned more. |
| Keywords: | Education, training and learning, Children and youth, Ethnic diversity and immigration, Educational attainment, Immigrant children and youth, Ethnic groups and generations in Canada, Immigrants and non-permanent residents, Outcomes of education |
| Date: | 2011–01–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2011330e&r=mig |
| By: | Cremer, Helmuth (Toulouse School of Economics); Goulão, Catarina (Toulouse School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | A wide variety of social protection systems coexist within the EU. Some member states provide social insurance that is of Beveridgean inspiration (with universal and more or less flat benefits), while others offer a system that is mainly Bismarckian (with benefits related to past contributions). Labor mobility raises concerns about the sustainability of the most generous and redistributive (Beveridgean) insurance systems. We address this issue in a two-country setting, where individuals differ in mobility cost (attachment to their native country). A Bismarckian insurance system is not affected by migration while a Beveridgean one is. Our results suggest that the race-to-the-bottom affecting tax rates may be more important under Beveridge-Beveridge competition than under Beveridge-Bismarck competition. Finally, we study the strategic choice of the type of social protection. We show that Bismarckian governments may find it beneficial to adopt a Beveridgean insurance system. |
| JEL: | H23 H70 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ide:wpaper:24004&r=mig |
| By: | Docquier, Frederic; Ozden, Caglar; Peri, Giovanni |
| Abstract: | Immigrants in Rome or Paris are more visible to the public eye than the Italian or French engineers in Silicon Valley, especially when it comes to the debate on the effects of immigration on the employment and wages of natives in high-income countries. This paper argues that such public fears, especially in European countries are misplaced; instead, more concern should be directed towards emigration. Using a new dataset on migration flows by education levels for the period 1990-2000, the results show the following: First, immigration had zero to small positive long-run effect on the average wages of natives, ranging from zero in Italy to +1.7 percent in Australia. Second, emigration had a mild to significant negative long-run effect ranging from zero for the US to -0.8 percent in the UK. Third, over the period 1990-2000, immigration generally improved the income distribution of European countries while emigration worsened it by increasing the wage gap between the high and low skilled natives. These patterns hold true using a range of parameters for the simulations, accounting for the estimates of undocumented immigrants, and correcting for the quality of schooling and/or labor-market downgrading of skills. All results go counter to the popular beliefs about migration, but they are due to the higher skill intensity of both emigration and immigration relative to non-migrants. |
| Keywords: | Population Policies,Human Migrations&Resettlements,Voluntary and Involuntary Resettlement,International Migration,Labor Markets |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5556&r=mig |
| By: | Grady, Patrick |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the performance of the children of immigrants (2nd generation immigrants) to Canada using data from the 2006 Census. As the composition of immigration inflows has shifted after 1980 from the traditional European source countries to the Third World, the analysis focuses on the labour market performance of 2nd generation visible minority immigrants of whom there were 398 thousand aged15 and over who reported employment income in the Census. An encouraging fact revealed by the data is that 2nd generation visible minority immigrants are becoming more highly educated than 2nd generation non-visible minority immigrants and than non-immigrants – 46.2 per cent of 2nd generation visible minority between 25 and 44 earning employment had earned university certificates or degrees compared to 31 per cent of non-visible minority 2nd generation immigrants and 24 per cent of non-immigrants in the same age groups. But, while 2nd generation visible minority immigrants obtained more education than 2nd generation non-visible minority immigrants and non-immigrants, their performance as a group did not measure up in the labour market. In the 25 to 44 age group, accounting for the largest number of 2nd generation visible minority immigrants, they only earned on average $39,814, whereas 2nd generation non-visible minority immigrants earned $45,352 and non-immigrants 40,358. The labour market performance varies significantly among different visible minority groups. 2nd generation Chinese immigrants in the 25 to 44 age group actually earned $48,098, which was actually more than 2nd generation non-visible minority immigrants and non-immigrants. Because of the large number of Chinese included as 2nd generation immigrants, this buoyed up the overall average and masked the unfortunate fact that many other visible minority groups are doing much worse than average overall and falling short of non-immigrants. A troubling aspect of the performance of 2nd generation immigrants, except for Chinese and Japanese, is the extent to which they earn substantially less than non-immigrants and especially non-visible minority immigrants for any given level of education. The paper thus provides no grounds for complacency that the children of the recent, particularly non-Asian visible minority, immigrants who are performing so poorly in Canada’s labour market will catch up with non-immigrant groups, particularly given that their parents are currently performing much worse than earlier visible minority immigrants in the labour market. And it is unlikely that 2nd generation visible minority immigrants as a group will earn enough to make up for the current earnings shortfall experienced by their parents in recent cohorts of underperforming immigrants. Furthermore, the lower earnings of many visible minority groups for any given level of education are likely to continue be used as justification for more affirmative action programs. This will adversely affect the non-visible minority and non-immigrant population, and could become a source of increasing social tension. |
| Keywords: | wages; 2nd generation immigrants to Canada; immigration policy; human capital |
| JEL: | J61 J24 J23 |
| Date: | 2011–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:28503&r=mig |
| By: | Gianmarco I.P. Ottaviano (Università Bocconi, CEPR, FEEM and LdA); Giovanni Peri (University of California, Davis, NBER and LdA); Greg C. Wright (University of California, Davis) |
| Abstract: | How many "American jobs" have U.S.-born workers lost due to immigration and offshoring? Or, alternatively, is it possible that immigration and offshoring, by promoting cost-savings and enhanced efficiency in firms, have spurred the creation of jobs for U.S. natives? We consider a multi-sector version of the Grossman and Rossi-Hansberg (2008) model with a continuum of tasks in each sector and we augment it to include immigrants with heterogeneous productivity in tasks. We use this model to jointly analyze the impact of a reduction in the costs of offshoring and of the costs of immigrating to the U.S. The model predicts that while cheaper offshoring reduces the share of natives among less skilled workers, cheaper immigration does not, but rather reduces the share of offshored jobs instead. Moreover, since both phenomena have a positive "cost-savings" effect they may leave unaffected, or even increase, total native employment of less skilled workers. Our model also predicts that offshoring will push natives toward jobs that are more intensive in communication-interactive skills and away from those that are manual and routine intensive. We test the predictions of the model on data for 58 U.S. manufacturing industries over the period 2000-2007 and find evidence in favor of a positive productivity effect such that immigration has a positive net effect on native employment while offshoring has no effect on it. We also find some evidence that offshoring has pushed natives toward more communication-intensive tasks while it has pushed immigrants away from them. |
| Keywords: | Employment, Production tasks, Immigrants, Offshoring |
| JEL: | F22 F23 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2010.145&r=mig |
| By: | Robert Pollin; Jeannette Wicks-Lim |
| Abstract: | <p>Did the presence of immigrant workers in the United States labor market—including both documented and undocumented workers—significantly affect conditions for low-wage native workers during the Great Recession of 2008-09? Building from the methodology developed by Card (2005), our basic finding is straightforward: the presence of immigrants in the U.S. labor market <i>did not</i> contribute in any significant way to the severe labor market problems faced by native workers during the recession. We do emphasize that our conclusion remains provisional until a broader set of data are brought to bear in investigating the question.</p> |
| JEL: | J61 J31 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uma:periwp:wp246&r=mig |
| By: | Benjamin Elsner (Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics and the Institute for International Integration Studies) |
| Abstract: | The eastern enlargement of the European Union in 2004 triggered a large flow of migrant workers from the new member states to the UK and Ireland. This paper analyzes the impact of this migration wave on the real wages in the source countries. I consider the case of Lithuania, which had the highest share of emigrants relative to its workforce among all ten new member states. Using data from the Lithuanian Household Budget Survey and the Irish Census, I find that emigration had a significant positive effect on the wages of men who stayed in the country, but no such effect is visible for women. A percentage point increase in the emigration rate increases the real wage of men on average by 1%. Several robustness checks confirm this result. |
| Keywords: | Emigration, Labor Mobility, EU Enlargement |
| JEL: | F22 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2010.151&r=mig |
| By: | Piracha, Matloob (University of Kent); Saraogi, Amrita (University of Kent) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the factors that account for the receipt of remittances across households in Moldova who have migrants abroad. Unlike most of the existing literature, we approach our research question from the perspective of the recipient household and use it to interpret the determinants/motivations of remittances. Our results show that a combination of household and migrant characteristics and some community level variables are the key elements in explaining the remittance behaviour in Moldova. Drawing from these estimates, we conclude that altruism and investment (proxied by the level of economic development at the regional level) are the two main motives behind remittance flows to Moldova. |
| Keywords: | remittances, migration, Moldova |
| JEL: | F22 F24 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5467&r=mig |
| By: | Alpaslan Akay (IZA and Gothenburg University); Olivier Bargain (School of Economics and UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin and IZA); Klaus F. Zimmermann (IZA, Bonn University and DIW Berlin) |
| Abstract: | How the income of "relevant others" affects well-being has received renewed interest in the recent literature using subjective data. Migrants constitutes a par- ticularly interesting group to study this question: as they changed environment, they are likely to be concerned by several potential reference groups including the people "left behind", other migrants and "natives". We focus here on the huge population of rural-to-urban migrants in China. We exploit a novel dataset that comprises samples of migrants and urban people living in the same cities, as well as rural households mostly surveyed in the provinces where migrants are coming from. After establishing these links, we fi nd that the well-being of migrants is largely af- fected by relative concerns: results point to negative relative concerns toward other migrants and workers of home regions - this status effect is particularly strong for migrants who wish to settle permanently in cities. We fi nd in contrast a positive relative income effect vis-à-vis the urban reference group, interpreted as a signal effect: larger urban incomes indicate higher income prospects for the migrants. A richer pattern is obtained when sorting migrants according to the duration of stay, expectations to return to home countries and characteristics related to family cir- cumstances, work conditions and community ties. |
| Keywords: | China, relative concerns, well-being. |
| JEL: | C90 D63 |
| Date: | 2011–01–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201102&r=mig |
| By: | Johansson, Peter (Institute for Futures Studies) |
| Abstract: | <p> This study addresses questions concerning social rights and migration in Sweden during the post-war era. In particular, is aims foci on the parliamentary regulation of rights for Swedish and foreign citizens to gain access to and export pension benefits according to Swedish pension law. It takes point of departure in previous research where it has been suggested that financing principles for benefits systems matters in this respect. In order to elaborate on that hypothesis, the tax-financed Peoples´ Pension is compared with the supplementary pension which is financed by social contributions. Results show that both eligibility and the right to export benefits where developed at an earlier stage and to a greater extent in the supplementary pension scheme. This result is in line with previous research. In addition, results also reveal that expanded eligibility does not automatically lead up to a right to export benefits. This is especially clear with respect to the development of the Peoples´ Pension. It is thus concluded that the development of both eligibility and exportability reflects the internal logic that is inherent with the relationship between contributions and benefits in a contributory system. It is also emphasised that international cooperation on social rights and migration has been of relevance for the development of national legislation. This is especially true for the Peoples´ Pension scheme where the Swedish citizenship as eligibility-criteria has been replaced over time.<p> |
| Keywords: | Social rights; Migration; Pension; Post war era; Sweden; |
| JEL: | F22 H55 |
| Date: | 2011–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifswps:2010_015&r=mig |