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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Simone Bertoli (RSCAS, EUI); Herbert Bruecker (University of Bamberg, IAB and IZA) |
| Abstract: | Destination countries are progressively shifting towards selective immigration policies. These can effectively increase migrants' average education even if one allows for endogenous schooling decisions and education policies at origin. Still, more selective immigration policies reduce social welfare at origin. |
| Keywords: | international migration; selective immigration policies; education policies; social welfare |
| JEL: | F22 J24 H52 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2011003&r=mig |
| By: | Govert E. Bijwaard (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)); Christian Schluter (DEFI, Aix-Marseille II and University of Southampton); Jackline Wahba (University of Southampton) |
| Abstract: | Using administrative panel data on the entire population of new labour immigrants to The Netherlands, we estimate the causal effects of labour dynamics on their return decisions. Specifically, the roles of unemployment and re-employment spells on immigration durations are examined. The endogeneity of labour market outcomes and the return migration decision, if ignored, confounds the causal effect. This empirical challenge is addressed using the “timing-of-events†method. We estimate the model separately for distinct immigrant groups, and find that, overall, unemployment spells shorten immigration durations, while re-employment spells delay returns for all but one group. The magnitude of the causal effect differ across groups. |
| Keywords: | temporary migration, durations, timing of event method, labour market dynamics. |
| JEL: | J61 J64 C41 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2011007&r=mig |
| By: | Grady, Patrick |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the poor performance of recent immigrants to Canada in the labour market as revealed in the Statistics Canada Census 2006 Public Use Microdata File (PUMF). It presents the data which shows that immigrants from less developed countries are doing much worse than immigrants from industrialized countries. And unlike previous studies, it focuses on why immigrants from particular countries and regions do worse than others, rather on a comparison with non-immigrants. Using regression analysis it shows that key explanatory variable for the poor performance of recent immigrants are their education, their visible minority status, their language skills, their occupations, and their countries of origin. A profiling of immigrants who have done better than non-immigrant Canadians suggests that the performance of immigrants could be improved by utilizing information from the Census on the characteristics of immigrants who succeed in labour markets to improve the selection criteria and distribution of points used in the current scoring system to choose immigrants, but this would leave untouched the problem of the underperformance of immigrants who are not selected under the point system. This paper reaffirms and updates to 2005 our knowledge that the earnings in immigrants varies significantly by country of origin and that language and the portability of education credentials is a contributing factor. It concludes with some observations on the implications of its analysis for immigration policy. |
| Keywords: | wages; recent immigrants to Canada; immigration policy; immigrant labour; human capital |
| JEL: | J61 J24 J23 |
| Date: | 2011–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:31289&r=mig |
| By: | Giovanni Facchini (Erasmus University Rotterdam, Universita’ degli Studi di Milano, CEPR, LdA and CES-Ifo); Cecilia Testa (Royal Holloway University of London, Erasmus University Rotterdam and LdA) |
| Abstract: | In 2008, approximately 12 million immigrants lived illegally in the United States, and large numbers of undocumented foreigners resided also in other advanced destination countries. Hence, attempts at controlling immigration flows seem to often fail. If governments are not enforcing their “official†immigration policy, why do they set such a policy in the ï¬rst place? The purpose of this paper is to address this apparent puzzle, using a political agency framework. We consider a setting in which there is uncertainty on the supply of migrants, and the policy maker –who faces elections – can be of one of two types. Either he has preferences congruent with the median voter, or he desires a larger number of migrants, because he is interested in the maximization of social welfare or has fallen prey to a pro–immigration lobby. We show that, if the incumbent wants to admit more migrants than the median voter, he might ï¬nd it optimal to announce a binding quota to be re-elected, and strategically relax its enforcement. The control of migration flows can take place at the border or domestically, and we argue that even if the former is less effective as a policy tool, it might be chosen in equilibrium. Thus, our model illustrates how strategic considerations by elected officials play an important role in explaining both the observed large number of illegal immigrants and lax enforcement. |
| Keywords: | Illegal immigration, Immigration Policy, Political Economy. |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2010001&r=mig |
| By: | Gil S. Epstein (Department of Economics, Bar Ilan University); Alessandra Venturini (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | Temporary and circular migration programs have been devised by many destination countries and supported by the European Commission as a policy to reduce welfare and social costs of immigration in destination countries. In this paper we present an additional reason for proposing temporary migration policies based on the characteristics of the foreign labor-effort supply. The level of effort exerted by migrants, which decreases over their duration in the host country, positively affects production, real wages and capital owners' profits. We show that the acceptance of job offers by migrants result in the displacement in employment of national workers. However it increases the workers‟ exertion, decreases prices and thus can counter anti-immigrant voter sentiment. Therefore, the favorable sentiment of the capital owners and the local population towards migrants may rise when temporary migration policies are adopted. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Exertion of effort, Contracted Temporary Migration |
| Date: | 2011–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:biu:wpaper:2011-19&r=mig |
| By: | Jesús Fernández-Huertas Moraga (FEDEA and IAE (CSIC)); Hillel Rapoport (Center for International Development, Harvard University;Bar-Ilan University; and EQUIPPE, University of Lille) |
| Abstract: | International migration is maybe the single most effective way to alleviate poverty a global level. When a given host country allows more immigrants in, this creates costs and benefits for that particular country as well as a positive externality for all those (individuals and governments) who care about world poverty. This implies that the existing international migration regime is inefficient as it fails to internalize such externality. In addition, host countries quite often restrict immigration due to its apparently unbearable social and political costs. However these costs are never measured and made comparable across countries. In this paper we first discuss theoretically how tradable immigration quotas (TIQs) can reveal information on such costs and, once coupled with a matching mechanism taking into account migrants’preferences, generate substantial welfare gains for all the parties involved. We then propose two potential applications: a market for the resettlement of international (e.g., climate change) refugees, and an extension of the US diversity lottery to a larger set of host countries and other immigration targets. Both applications are seen as possible precursors to a full implementation of a TIQs system. |
| Keywords: | immigration, immigration policy, tradable quotas, refugees, climate change, international public goods |
| JEL: | F22 F5 H87 I3 K33 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:201113&r=mig |
| By: | Raven Molloy; Christopher L. Smith; Abigail Wozniak |
| Abstract: | We review patterns in migration within the U.S. over the past thirty years. Internal migration has fallen noticeably since the 1980s, reversing increases from earlier in the century. The decline in migration has been widespread across demographic and socioeconomic groups, as well as for moves of all distances. Although a convincing explanation for the secular decline in migration remains elusive and requires further research, we find only limited roles for the housing market contraction and the economic recession in reducing migration recently. Despite its downward trend, migration within the U.S. remains higher than that within most other developed countries. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Internal ; Labor mobility |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2011-30&r=mig |
| By: | Thomas K. Bauer; Regina Flake; Mathias G. Sinning |
| Abstract: | This paper combines individual-level data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) with economic and demographic postcode-level data from administrative records to analyze the effects of immigration on wages and unemployment probabilities of high- and low-skilled natives. Employing an instrumental variable strategy and utilizing the variation in the population share of foreigners across regions and time, we find no support for the hypothesis of adverse labor market effects of immigration. |
| Keywords: | International migration; effects of immigration |
| JEL: | F22 J31 J64 R23 |
| Date: | 2011–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rwi:repape:0257&r=mig |
| By: | Catia Batista (Trinity College Dublin and IZA); Pedro C. Vicente (Trinity College Dublin, University of Oxford - Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) and) |
| Abstract: | Can international migration promote better institutions at home by raising the demand for political accountability? In order to examine this question, we designed a behavioral measure of the population’s desire for better governance. A postcard was distributed to households with the pledge that, if enough postcards were mailed back, results from a survey module on perceived corruption would be made public in the national media. Using data from a tailored household survey, we examine the determinants of our behavioral measure of demand for political accountability (i.e. of undertaking the costly action of mailing the postcard), and isolate the positive effect of international emigration using locality level variation. The estimated effects are robust to the use of instrumental variables, including both past migration and macro shocks in the migrant destination countries. We find that the estimated effects can be mainly attributed to those who emigrated to countries with better governance, especially return migrants. |
| Keywords: | international migration, governance, political accountability, institutions, effects of emigration in origin countries, household survey, Cape Verde, sub-Saharan Africa. |
| JEL: | F22 O12 O15 O43 P16 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2011004&r=mig |
| By: | Bernt Bratsberg (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Oddbjørn Raaum (Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Marianne Røed (Institute for Social Research); Pål Schøne (Institute for Social Research) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the direct partial wage effect for native workers of an immigrant-induced increase in labor supply, using longitudinal records drawn from Norwegian registers and the national skill cell approach of Borjas (2003). Our results show overall negative wage impacts for both men and women. Focusing on differential wage impacts by immigrant origin, we find that immigrant inflows from the neighboring Nordic countries have more negative wage effects than inflows from developing countries. The pattern is consistent with factor demand theory if natives and other Nordic citizens are close substitutes. We also find that impact estimates, particularly for inflows from nearby countries, are sensitive to accounting for selective native attrition and within-skill group variation in demand and supply conditions. |
| Date: | 2010–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2010002&r=mig |
| By: | Pieter Bevelander (Malmö Institute for Studies for Migration, Diversity and Welfare); Ravi Pendakur (University of Ottawa) |
| Abstract: | Over the last decades, both Canada and Sweden have liberalized citizenship regulations for permanent residents. During the same period, immigration patterns by country of birth have changed substantially, with an increasing number of immigrants arriving from non-western countries. The aim of this paper is to explore the link between citizenship and employment probabilities for immigrants in both countries, controlling for a range of demographic, human capital, and municipal characteristics such as city and co-ethnic population size. We use data from the 2006 Canadian census and Swedish register data (STATIV) for the year 2006. Both STATIV and the Census, include similar sets of demographic, socio-economic and immigrant specific. We use instrumental variable regression to examine the “clean†impact of citizenship acquisition and the size of the co-immigrant population on the probability of being employed in both countries. We find that citizenship acquisition has a positive influence on employment probabilities in both Canada and Sweden. The size of the co-ethnic population has a positive impact for many immigrant groups—as the co-ethnic population increases, the probability of being employed also increases. |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2011002&r=mig |
| By: | Choi, Kate H. (Princeton University); Tienda, Marta (Princeton University); Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. (University of Melbourne); Sinning, Mathias (Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | The claim that marriage is a venue for status exchange of achieved traits, like education, and ascribed attributes, notably race and ethnic membership, has regained traction in the social stratification literature. Most studies that consider status exchanges ignore birthplace as a social boundary for status exchanges via couple formation. This paper evaluates the status exchange hypothesis for Australia and the United States, two Anglophone nations with long immigration traditions whose admission regimes place different emphases on skills. A log-linear analysis reveals evidence of status exchange in the United States among immigrants with lower levels of education and mixed nativity couples with foreign-born husbands. Partly because Australian educational boundaries are less sharply demarcated at the postsecondary level, we find is weaker evidence for the status exchange hypothesis. Australian status exchanges across nativity boundaries usually involve marriages between immigrant spouses with a postsecondary credential below a college degree and native-born high school graduates. |
| Keywords: | status exchange, immigration, educational assortative mating |
| JEL: | F22 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5750&r=mig |
| By: | Lin, Carl (Rutgers University) |
| Abstract: | The paper links finance theory to labor economics and political economy in the context of migration and immigration policy. Most research treating the impact of immigration has focused on the consequences for employees as measured by wages, earnings, and employment. Less is known about the impact on employers. We lack answers to basic questions concerning the quantitative impact of immigrants on employer profit, and which employers are most likely to gain (suffer) increased (reduced) profits as a result of immigration. Using event study analysis, I measure the impact of immigration policy on the profit of employers and shareholders, particularly in those industries with high needs for skilled immigrants. The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (ACWIA) of 1998 nearly doubled the available number of H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers in FY 1999. It was the first time that the U.S. government raised the annual cap of H-1B visa since 1990. I focus on this bill and analyze whether and by how much its passage increased shareholders’ profit. The empirical results show that employers and shareholders in the top H-1B visa user industries enjoyed significant and positive returns with the passage of the ACWIA of 1998. Shareholders in high-tech industries (the top users of H-1B visa, 80% of total) such as "Computers and related equipment", and "Computer and data processing services" gained, respectively, an average 21.54% (15.88 if weighted) and 22.77% (18.11 if weighted) in cumulative excess returns in the month after the Act was passed, while industries with little need for H-1B visas experienced no significant changes in cumulative excess returns. Robustness testing including international factor comparisons, semiparametric modeling and a sample-split Chow structural break test support the results. |
| Keywords: | skilled immigrants, immigration policy, employers, shareholders, event study, H-1B visa |
| JEL: | J61 K31 G12 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5754&r=mig |
| By: | Karin Mayr (University of Vienna) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a model to analyze the effects of immigration by skill on the outcome of a majority vote among natives on both the size as well as the composition of public spending. Public spending can be of two types, spending on rival goods (transfers) and on non-rival goods (public goods). I find that the effect of immigration on public spending depends on preferences for the different types of spending. In particular, immigrants of either skill can increase (decrease) the size of total public spending, if natives have a relative preference for spending on public goods (spending on transfers). I provide some illustration of spending patterns in OECD countries during 1980 - 2010. |
| Keywords: | immigration, political economy, transfers, public goods |
| JEL: | F2 H4 H5 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2011001&r=mig |
| By: | Ceren Ozgen (Department of Spatial Economics, VU University Amsterdam); Peter Nijkamp (Department of Spatial Economics, VU University Amsterdam); Jacques Poot (National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA), University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | The concentration of people with diverse socio-cultural backgrounds in particular geographic areas may boost the creation of new ideas, knowledge spillovers, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. In this paper we measure the impact of the size, skills, and diversity of immigration on the innovativeness of host regions. For this purpose we construct a panel of data on 170 regions in Europe (NUTS 2 level) for the periods 1991-1995 and 2001-2005. Innovation outcomes are measured by means of the number of patent applications per million inhabitants. Given the geographical concentration and subsequent diffusion of innovation activity, and the spatial selectivity of immigrants’ location choices, we take account of spatial dependence and of the endogeneity of immigrant settlement in our econometric modelling. We use the location of McDonald’s restaurants as a novel instrument for immigration. The results confirm that innovation is clearly a function of regional accessibility, industrial structure, human capital, and GDP growth. In addition, patent applications are positively affected by the diversity of the immigrant community beyond a critical minimum level. An increase in the fractionalization index by 0.1 from the regional mean of 0.5 increases patent applications per million inhabitants by about 0.2 percent. Moreover, the average skill level of immigrants (proxied by global regions of origin) also affects patent applications. In contrast, an increasing share of foreigners in the population does not conclusively impact on patent applications. Therefore, a distinct composition of immigrants from different backgrounds is a more important driving force for innovation than the sheer size of the immigrant population in a certain locality. |
| Keywords: | immigration, cultural diversity, economic growth, innovation, spatial autocorrelation |
| JEL: | J61 O31 R23 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2011008&r=mig |
| By: | Frédéric Docquier (Université Catholique de Louvain); Hillel Rapoport (Bar-Ilan University, Universités de Lille, and Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews four decades of economics research on the brain drain, with a focus on recent contributions and on development issues. We first assess the magnitude, intensity and determinants of the brain drain, showing that brain drain (or high-skill) migration is becoming the dominant pattern of international migration and a major aspect of globalization. We then use a stylized growth model to analyze the various channels through which a brain drain affects the sending countries and review the evidence on these channels. The recent empirical literature shows that high-skill emigration need not deplete a country's human capital stock and can generate positive network externalities. Three case studies are also considered: the African medical brain drain, the recent exodus of European scientists to the United States, and the role of the Indian diaspora in the development of India's IT sector. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of the analysis for education, immigration, and international taxation policies in a global context. |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:biu:wpaper:2011-18&r=mig |
| By: | Richard P C Brown; Fabrizio Carmignani; Ghada Fayad |
| Abstract: | Financial development and financial literacy in developing countries are commonly identified as important conditions for attaining higher rates of investment and economic growth. It has also been argued that migrants’ remittances stimulate financial development in the receiving economy, contributing indirectly to economic growth. Past research has been based almost exclusively on the macro-level relationship between remittances and financial depth. To explore this relationship further, we combine macroeconomic analysis using a cross-country panel dataset with micro-level analysis of households’ uses of financial sector services. From the macroeconomic analysis we find evidence of a negative relationship between remittances and financial deepening in developing countries, once we control for the countries’ legal origin. At the microeconomic level we use household survey data from a recent study of migrants’ remittances in two transition economies, resource rich and relatively more financially developed Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan, to test the relationship between remittances and financial literacy among remittance-receiving households. While we find some supportive evidence, albeit weak, for Kyrgyzstan, in Azerbaijan, the relatively more financially-developed economy, we uncover a strong perverse relationship. Remittances appear to deter the use of formal banking services. Possible reasons are explored and areas for further investigation identified. |
| Keywords: | remittances, financial development, financial literacy, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan |
| JEL: | F22 O16 O53 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:059&r=mig |
| By: | Jessica Yiu (Princeton University) |
| Abstract: | At present, little is known about the welfare of very young immigrant children, since the emphasis thus far has been on the integration of school-aged children and youths into host societies (e.g. Leventhal et al. 2006; Portes and Hao 2004; Zhou and Bankston 1994). However invaluable these studies are in understanding how well the children of immigrants fare, particularly at school, and in predicting their socioeconomic mobility as adults, they cannot ascertain how early the onset of these nativity differences is. Researchers across the disciplines are thus increasingly turning their attention to the early childhood period to better understand how learning gaps between the children of immigrant versus native-born parentage – that is, second- and third-plus generations, respectively – are formed and persist prior to school entry (Fuller et al. 2009; Johnson de Feyter and Winsler 2009; Takanishi, 2004). The recent availability of longitudinal and large-scale birth cohort studies, such as the Fragile Families Study of Child Well-being, facilitates analyses which address early childhood research with a focus on nativity. |
| Keywords: | young immigrant children, integration, school-aged children and youths, host societies, Fragile Families Study of Child Well-being |
| JEL: | D19 D63 I21 I31 J15 |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:crcwel:1314&r=mig |
| By: | Moritz Bonn |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of high skilled immigration on employment and net income in the receiving economy where the market for low skilled labour is distorted by union wage setting and a redistributive unemployment benefit scheme. Based on the empirical fact that high and low skilled workers are close albeit imperfect substitutes, we show that high skilled immigration can either be beneficial or harmful, both in terms of employment and net income. More precisely, we conclude that a Pareto improvement can be achieved if the unemployment benefit level remains unaffected by high skilled immigration whereas an overall loss in net income cannot be ruled out if we suggest unemployment benefits to be funded by an exogenous egalitarian tax rate. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Imperfect Labour Markets, Fiscal Redistribution |
| JEL: | F22 H53 J51 J61 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sie:siegen:147-11&r=mig |
| By: | Paola Bertolini; Valentina Toscano; Linda Tosarelli |
| Abstract: | Given the deep economic and social differences of the Italian territories, the aim of the paper is to examine if there is a relationship between the territorial features of the Italian provinces and the school participation of young immigrants. The analysis focuses on the education experiences of young immigrants, especially on school participation in different levels, noting also the experiences of failure and higher education choices. The descriptive analysis of school participation and the economic-social characteristics has as objective to verify if there is a relationship between the latter and school participation. The analysis shows that the presence of foreign children in kindergarten is high and, in some regions, it is even higher than Italian children ones. Regarding the presence of immigrants in mandatory school, the turnout is above 90% in all regions. The participation rate of students in high school is commonly very low and compared with immigrants peers, the Italian school participation is widely higher. The presence of immigrant students has been analyzed considering the participation in different types of high school. In general, they prefer the vocational school. Moreover, the geographical distribution of participation in vocational schools is higher in northern region, where there is a significant industrial development and high employment rate. A statistical analysis of the determinants influencing the migrants’ choices has been made using some socio-economic indicators able to describe the economy of the different areas, especially in terms of sector-based specialization, presence of industrial districts, dynamics of labour market and households’ income. The results underline that the economic context is able to influence the individual choices; in particular the presence of manufacturing, the wealth of agriculture and the presence of schools exercise a positive influence. At the opposite, GDP per capita and agricultural orientation of the economy play a negative influence of immigrants school attendance. |
| Keywords: | immigrant students, education, territorial pattern, schooling determinants |
| JEL: | I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2010–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:depeco:0647&r=mig |
| By: | Dronkers Jaap; Velden Rolf van der; Dunne Allison (ROA rm) |
| Abstract: | The effects of educational systems, school-composition, track-level, parentalbackground and immigrants’ origins on the achievement of 15-years old native andimmigrant students. A reanalysis of PISA 2006.The main research question of this paper is the combined estimation of the effectsof educational systems, school-composition and track-level on the educationalachievement of 15-years-old students. We specifically focus on the effects of socioeconomicand ethnic background on achievement scores and to what extent theseeffects are affected by characteristics of the school, track or educational system thesestudents are in. In doing so, we examine the ‘sorting’ mechanisms of schools and tracksin highly stratified, moderately stratified and comprehensive education systems. Weuse data from the 2006 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) wave.Compared to previous research in this area the main contribution of this paper is thatwe explicitly include track-level and school-level as separate units of analyses, whichleads to less biased results of the effects of characteristics of the educational system.The results highlight the importance of including track-level and school-level factorsin the debate of educational inequality of opportunity for students in differenteducation contexts. The findings clearly indicate that the effects of educationalsystem characteristics are flawed if the analysis uses only a country and a studentlevel and ignores the track- and school-level characteristics. Moreover the inclusionof the track-level is necessary to avoid overestimation of the school-compositioneffect, especially in stratified educational systems. From a policy perspective, the mostimportant finding is that educational system are not uniformly ‘good’ or ‘bad’, butthey have different consequences for different groups. Some groups are better offin comprehensive systems, while other groups are better off in moderately or highlystratified systems. |
| Keywords: | labour market entry and occupational careers; |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umaror:2011006&r=mig |
| By: | Jason Gagnon |
| Abstract: | While the econometric literature on the impact of immigration on labour markets is well developed, there is a striking gap with regards to the impact of emigration on sending countries. Building on the established literature measuring the impact of immigration, this paper attempts to narrow that gap by investigating whether the short but intense emigration period from Honduras from 2001 to 2007 to the U.S. increased wages in Honduras. It notably exploits the variation of labour supply by skill group in the labour market in the years following Hurricane Mitch. Relying on individual cross-sectional data and an instrumental variable approach, the estimates show that a 10% increase in emigration from Honduras increased wages in Honduras by around 10%, an increase which is higher than previous findings in other countries – but diminishing over time. It also provides evidence on implications in terms of redistribution by gender, rural/urban households and private sector workers.<BR>Alors que la littérature économique portant sur l’impact de l’immigration sur les marchés du travail est largement développée, il existe un déficit notable concernant l’impact de l’émigration sur le pays d’origine. A partir de la littérature mesurant l’impact de l’immigration, cet article vise à combler ce déficit en étudiant si la période d’émigration, à la fois courte mais intense, entre le Honduras et les États-Unis de 2001 à 2007 a entraîné une augmentation des salaires au Honduras. Il exploite notamment la variation d’offre de travail par groupe de compétences sur le marché du travail pour les années suivant l’ouragan Mitch. Fondées sur des données transversales individuelles et une approche reposant sur des variables instrumentales, les estimations montrent qu’une augmentation de 10% de l’émigration provenant du Honduras accroit les salaires honduriens de près de 10%, une augmentation supérieure à des résultats antérieurs pour d’autres pays – mais qui diminue au cours du temps. Les implications en termes de redistributions au niveau du genre, des ménages ruraux/urbains et des travailleurs privés sont aussi développées. |
| Keywords: | development, wages, international emigration, labour force, Honduras, Central America, développement, salaires, émigration internationale, force de travail, Honduras, Amérique Centrale |
| JEL: | E24 F22 J21 |
| Date: | 2011–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:devaaa:300-en&r=mig |
| By: | Sanne Hiller |
| Abstract: | The theoretical claim that ethnic networks encourage trade has found broad empirical support in the literature on migration, business networks and international trade. Ethnic networks matter for the exporting firm, as they exhibit the potential to lower fixed and variable cost of exporting. This paper provides a first attempt to identify the export-promoting effect of emigration on the firm level. Using detailed Danish firm-level data, we can parsimoniously control for export determinants other than emigration, unobserved heterogeneity at the firm level, as well as for self-selection of firms into exporting. Additionally accounting for taste similarity between Denmark and its trade partners, our findings suggest a positive effect of emigration on Danish manufacturing trade within Europe, thereby corroborating preceding studies on aggregate data. Nevertheless, as a novel insight, our analysis reveals that the only beneficiaries of emigration are small enterprises. |
| Keywords: | Emigration, Brain Drain, Small Businesses, International Trade, Firmlevel analysis |
| JEL: | F22 F16 |
| Date: | 2011–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wsr:wpaper:y:2011:i:070&r=mig |
| By: | Abraham, Vinoj; Rajan, Irudaya S |
| Abstract: | Studies record that a large number of South Asian migrant workers in the Middle–East had to return to their home countries owing to the global financial crisis and loss of jobs. However, their distress of loss of job in the gulf is compounded by the fact that in their own home countries the rehabilitation and reintegration of these workers is tedious and often the returnees are thrust with forced choices. This paper, based on a primary survey conducted in five south Asian countries, namely; Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, concludes that on return, the employment status of REMs were in general worse off than in their host country with high share of casualisation, self employment and unemployment in the crisis year and a decline in their average monthly earnings. The analysis suggests that those who found employment on return was in fact driven by economic compulsions to reduce their job search period and cost. |
| Keywords: | Global Financial Crisis; Return Migrants; South Asia; Employment; Wages |
| JEL: | F22 N15 J2 |
| Date: | 2011–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:31386&r=mig |