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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Elise Brezis (Azrieli Center for Economic Policy (ACEP), Bar-Ilan University); Ariel Soueri (Department of Economics, Bar-Ilan University; Ministry of Finance) |
| Abstract: | The flow of students has grown very rapidly these last decades, and in some regions, has become twice as important as the flows of those seeking work. The purpose of this study is to explore the elements affecting students’ decision on migration. The two main elements affecting migration are wages, and quality of education. It should be stressed that the countries with the highest-quality education are not necessarily those with high wages. Therefore there is a need to explore whether it is quality of higher education or wage levels that determine the direction of student flows. First, we develop a simple two-stage model relating decisions on educational choices to those on job search. Our model shows that student migration is towards countries with the highest quality of higher education. In the second part of this study, we empirically investigate our theoretical model using a panel data on European OECD countries. We use the Bologna process to outline which of the elements, wages or educational quality, determines the direction of flows. We find strong evidence of concentration of students in countries with high-quality education and not in high-wage countries. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Human capital, Students, higher education, Bologna process, Brain drain. |
| JEL: | F22 I23 J24 |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:25&r=mig |
| By: | M.Carolina Brandi (Institute for Research on Population and Social Policy, National Research Centre); Sveva Avveduto (Institute for Research on Population and Social Policy National Research Council); Loredana Cerbara (Institute for Research on Population and Social Policy National Research Council) |
| Abstract: | IRPPS/CNR finalised, in 2001, a questionnaire designed to mine information about foreigners engaged in research in Italy. We found that the numerical presence of foreign researchers was not proportionately negligible with respect to the total number of researchers in Italian public research institutes. This survey therefore demonstrates that Italian research institutes were securely connected to the international circuit of scientists and allowed us to recognize some of the main reasons of these peculiar migrations. However, the intake of foreign researchers in Italy is far lower than the outflow of Italian researchers abroad, though the dimension of the last flux is extremely hard to be determined, since no reliable statistical records are collected on this topic. Because of this reason, we recently started a new survey dedicated to the Italian researchers working abroad. Being their total number unknown, we are using the "snowball sampling” method in order to reach the highest number of subjects. The starting sample was taken from the DAVINCI data-base, available on the web site of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and composed by data voluntarily inserted by about 2000 Italian researchers working abroad. All the registered scientists were asked by e-mail to fulfil a questionnaire, basically equal to the one used for the previous survey on the foreign researchers working in Italy. Though this research is just started, its preliminary results seem to confirm the findings of the previous one concerning the reasons of what we might call the "natural mobility” of researchers: when scientists move abroad, they are generally motivated by a desire to engage in quality work, whereas other considerations that are very important to other professionals, such as economic compensation, are less important. By the way, our surveys also revealed a basic difference between the outgoing and ingoing fluxes of researchers in Italy: while the large majority of foreign scientists working in Italy plan to come back home, the largest share of the interviewees Italian researchers working abroad do not will to do the same. In both cases, the chief reasons for the scientist’s reluctance to settle in Italy can be ascribed to the unlikelihood of permanent contracts of employment and the poor prospects for career advancement in Italian public research institutes, universities and companies. This unfortunate situation, jeopardizing the Italian capability to compete in the present day knowledge based economy, is also confirmed by the results that we gathered from the analysis of the subsamples of Italian graduates working abroad from the 2007 yearly AlmaLaurea Survey on Italian Graduates’ Employment Conditions. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:44&r=mig |
| By: | Magali Ballatore (Catholic University of Louvain (BE)) |
| Abstract: | Behind the image of a globalised, mobile elite there is a wide range of social realities. In Europe today, there are many types of international migrants. This paper focuses on the field of qualified, professional migration, a type that falls between the two extremities on the social spectrum: the elite corporation, top executives in the world of globalisation, and poor migrants or asylum-seekers, with little capital. Our starting point is the theory that today in Europe, certain young people from the "middle class” of the south of the continent and/or massified higher education establishments use geographical mobility as a means to social mobility (move out in order to move up). We also hypothesise that this often has consequences on both their lives and their original geographical region. We have chosen to show the "human side” (Smith; Favell, 2006) of globalisation, instead of the more common viewpoint of theory and rhetoric, by asking former Erasmus students about their careers and experiences, both professional and non-professional. We analyse to what extent their careers correspond to new injunctions and how these non-linear, reversible paths have an impact on the entry into adult life for young people from average social and professional categories. On the basis of an in-depth content analysis of around fifty semi-directive interviews with young Italian, French and English people, we show how student mobility corresponds to expectations of the economic and social world, which go beyond the expectations of the participants themselves. The question of a possible reinforcement of existing social and economic inequalities within the European Union is thus raised through the relative "freedom” of the students when confronted with exchanges. |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:47&r=mig |
| By: | Fabian Kratz (Bavarian State Institute for Higher Education Research and Planning) |
| Abstract: | Concentrating on the social origin, determinants of international mobility of students and recent graduates are identified, drawing on a combination of the microeconomic human capital model as well as the job-search-theory. The analysis is based on the Bavarian Graduate Study (Bayerisches Absolventen Panel, BAP), a representative data base for a wide array of fields of study at Bavarian universities and universities of applied sciences. Methods of multilevel modeling are employed to identify individual differences in the spatial mobility propensities of students and young graduates. First, analyzing the determinants of international mobility of students revealed the following associations. The younger the students, the higher the likelihood to study abroad. This propensity is also positively associated with parents’ status. Apart from that, students from universities display a significantly higher migration propensity than students from universities of applied sciences. Second, considering differences in the emigration propensities after graduation, our results imply that the likelihood of working abroad is contingent on a high social origin, being a single, graduating at a lower age. Furthermore, migration experiences in the past and competencies in foreign languages show a positive impact. Consequently, international mobility both during the studies and upon entrance into the labor market is significantly influenced by the social origin. In addition to this direct effect, the higher likelihood of students and graduates with a favorable social background to experience mobility in early stages increases their propensity to go abroad again indirectly, too, as a mediator. The same holds true for the readiness to move for a job as indicated by the radius considered when searching for a job. As a result, the range of opportunities resulting from the combined effects of a high social origin and previous migration experiences resembles a sophisticated mechanism contributing to the reproduction of social inequality. |
| Keywords: | international mobility, students, graduates, social origin, inequality, job search |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:26&r=mig |
| By: | Brunilda Zenelaga (University Aleksandër Moisiu); Kseanela Sotirofski (University Aleksandër Moisiu) |
| Abstract: | Migration of high skilled workers, known as brain drain, is a relatively spread phenomena in both developed and developing countries. The brain drain phenomenon of the countries of the South-East Europe is determined to a large extent by common "push factors’ such as troubled economies, political instability, severe unemployment, and lack of respect of human rights, including the right to work. All these are especially true for post-communist societies, which are faced with the challenge of including the educated elite in the transition reforms that must take place to intensify bonds with the European Union. Brain gain consists of those "pull factors”, policies and strategies which create the conditions for encouraging the return of qualified nationals. From a point of view of duration, degree and impact on the development of the country, Albania constitutes the most striking example of brain drain in South East Europe. Indeed, Albania has one of the highest emigration rates in the world: during the 1990s almost 40% of lecturers and researchers left the country. Among these, 66% hold a PHD title. There are many examples of experts and students who study in Italy, and it is estimated that only 5% of them will return. Several reasons may explain the massive migration of high skilled workers from Albania, but this study is limited with those who went to Italy for study reasons. The main aim of the study is to carry out the main issues related to the reasons why the Albanians study in Italy and the ways they can be motivated to turn back and contribute to Albanian socio-economic development. A brief summary of related literature review, some qualitative data collected from semi-structured in-depth interview with 37 Master and Ph.D. students studying in Italy will be analyzed. The interviewed persons had emigrated for a better education. Among all traditional factors that determine the possible brain gain to Albania the authors find that the factors like socio-economic state, higher education system, government politics related to the orientation of returned students studying abroad, the teaching of democratic and transparency feelings and thoughts, the promoting of European rights and values, freedom, solidarity and security and the notification of European universities as an actor on the global stage are statistically important. Also some statistical data from CESS (Center for Economic and Social Studies) and Institute of Statistics related to Brain Gain process in the country will also be analyzed. This paper also attempts to assess the future trends of Albanians` move to Italy for study reasons and the turning scale to the country after their studies. |
| Keywords: | brain gain, brain drain, migration, transition |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:46&r=mig |
| By: | Gevrek, Z. Eylem (University of Konstanz); Gevrek, Deniz (Texas A&M University Corpus Christi); Gupta, Sonam (University of Florida) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of culture on the work behavior of second-generation immigrant women in Canada. We contribute to the current literature by analyzing the role of intermarriage in intergenerational transmission of culture and its subsequent effect on labor market outcomes. Using relative female labor force participation and total fertility rates in the country of ancestry as cultural proxies, we find that culture matters for the female labor supply. Cultural proxies are significant in explaining number of hours worked by second-generation women with immigrant parents. More importantly, we show that the impact of cultural proxies is significantly larger for women with immigrant parents who share same ethnic background than for those with intermarried parents. The fact that the effect of culture is weaker for women who were raised in intermarried families stresses the importance of intermarriage in assimilation process. Our results are robust to different specifications and estimation strategies. |
| Keywords: | immigrant women, labor supply, culture, intermarriage |
| JEL: | J12 J16 J22 J61 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6043&r=mig |
| By: | Nadereh Chamlou (The World Bank); Silvia Muzi (The World Bank); Hanane Ahmed (The World Bank) |
| Abstract: | The similarities between the labor market supply of women with a Middle Eastern background living in Europe and those of women living in the Middle East is of particular interest. Indeed, empirical evidence shows that Female Labor Force Participation (FLFP) of immigrants reflects to a large extent the FLFP of country of origin, with women from more conservative societies tending to participate less in the labor market than natives or immigrants from countries with a high FLFP. This impacts the host country’s FLFP at an aggregate level. Therefore, from a European perspective, understanding the determinants of female labor supply in the conservative societies, such as countries from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is of particular interest, considering the high share of this group among immigrants. Hence, this empirical research focuses on the role of education, especially higher education, and social norms in MENA on the choice of women to work outside. The region has achieved substantial progress in educating women, increasingly so at the tertiary level and across disciplines, but its FLFP remains the lowest among all regions. Our paper empirically investigates the impact of education with emphasis on higher education on FLFP and the relationship between social norms and female labor supply in a representative city in MENA, namely Amman, Jordan, as a proxy for MENA. Our analysis shows that higher education (post-secondary/university/post-university) has a positive and significant impact on FLFP, whereas secondary and below do not. In addition, there is a strong negative and statistically significant association between traditional social norms and the participation of women in the labor force. The findings pose the question of whether additional policies and actions are needed to change institutions and attitudes toward women’s work in general, as well as improve the economic opportunities of women who have secondary education which affects the bulk of working age women. |
| Date: | 2011–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:31&r=mig |
| By: | Christopher L. Smith |
| Abstract: | Since the beginning of the recent recession, the employment-population ratio for high-school age youth (16-17 years old) has fallen by nearly a third, to its lowest level ever. However, this recession has exacerbated a longer-run downward trend that actually began in the 1990s and accelerated in the early 2000s. There is little research regarding why teen employment has fallen. Some earlier work emphasized labor supply explanations related to schooling and education, such as an increased emphasis on college preparation (Aaronson, Park, and Sullivan 2006), while others have argued that adult immigrants have crowded out teens, at least in part because adult immigrants and native teens tend to be employed in similar occupations (Sum, Garrington, and Khatiwada 2006, Camarota and Jensenius 2010, Smith 2012). This paper presents updated trends in teen employment and participation across multiple demographic characteristics, and argues that, in addition to immigration, occupational polarization in the U.S. adult labor market has resulted in increased competition for jobs that teens traditionally hold. Testing various supply and demand explanations for the decline since the mid-1980s, I find that demand factors can explain at least half of the decline unexplained by the business cycle, and that supply factors can explain much of the remaining decline. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2011-41&r=mig |
| By: | Brahim Boudarbat |
| Abstract: | In 2010, the unemployment rate among immigrants aged 15 to 64 was 12.4 % in Quebec, compared to 10.4 % in Ontario and 8.8 % in British Columbia. The ratio of the unemployment rates of immigrants to those of the Canadian born was 1.7 in Quebec, 1.3 in Ontario, and 1.2 in British Columbia. <p> The economic turmoil of recent years has had a greater impact on immigrants than on the Canadian born: Nation-wide, between 2008 and 2010 the unemployment rate of the former increased by 2.7 percentage points and that of the latter by 1.7 points. This deterioration is observed in all three of the provinces we examined—especially in British Columbia, where the unemployment rate of immigrants rose by 3.9 percentage points between 2008 and 2010. In Ontario, the unemployment rate of immigrants increased by 2.8 percentage points during the same period, versus only 1.2 percentage points in Quebec. <p> The unemployment rate differential between immigrants to Quebec and British Columbia shrank dramatically between 2006 and 2010, from 7.9 to 3.6 percentage points. This trend is the result of a marked deterioration in the situation of immigrants on the B. C. labour market. <p> With regard to the unemployment rate of those born in Canada, the situation in Quebec is comparable to that in British Columbia and better than in Ontario. Quebec also resembles other Canadian provinces how well it integrates immigrants having completed their postsecondary studies in Canada. However, this province is distinguished by an unemployment rate that is much higher for immigrants who obtained their postsecondary education abroad (13 %) than for those who acquired it here (7.8 %). In the two other provinces, the country in which the credentials were awarded weighs relatively less in the hiring decision: The unemployment rate for immigrants with foreign postsecondary credentials was 9.7 % in Ontario and 7.6 % in British Columbia in 2010. <p> Rapid integration of newcomers poses another challenge for Quebec. In 2010, the unemployment rate of immigrants having been in Canada five years or less was 19.4 % in Quebec, compared to 17.9 % in Ontario and 13.8 % in British Columbia. <p> Another specificity of Quebec's labour market is that it is less accessible to poorly educated immigrants: In 2010, the unemployment rate in Quebec of those with no degree, certificate or diploma was 20.5 %, in contrast to 15.8 % in British Columbia and 17.9 % in Ontario. On the other hand, the unemployment rate of immigrants with a university degree was 9.4 % in Quebec, 9.0 % in Ontario, and 8.0 % in British Columbia. Thus, integration into the labour market in Quebec and elsewhere does not only reflect recognition of foreign degrees, since those who don't have one typically encounter more problems finding work than others. <p> Despite these difficulties integrating into the Quebec labour market, the percentage of immigrants who report having experienced problems or difficulties in finding work during their first four years in Canada is relatively lower in Quebec (63.8 %) than in Ontario (71.0 %) and British Columbia (65.1 %). <p> According to the immigrants themselves, the lack of Canadian experience is the greatest hurdle to finding work (71.8 % in Quebec, 74.4 % in Ontario, and 64.1 % in British Columbia). This suggests that access to a first suitable job is crucial to the integration of immigrants. The second obstacle to obtaining a job involves language skills: 49.7 % of new immigrants to Quebec identified this as a problem, compared with 42.3 % in Ontario and 48.5 % in British Columbia. Thus, there is a case to be made for strengthening programs that help immigrants master the language used in the labour market of the host country. <p> Whether well founded or not, the perception of discriminatory hiring practices is evoked by very few immigrants, but the proportion of those who do mention this is slightly higher in Quebec (21.8 %) than in Ontario (17.1 %) or British Columbia (12 %). These values fall to 7.4 %, 3.2 %, and 3.1 %, respectively, when only the main obstacles to employment are considered. It is in Quebec that the rate of overqualification of Canadian-born university graduates is lowest, at 34.9 % in 2010, versus 42.7 % in British Columbia and 40.1 % in Ontario. Immigrants to Quebec with a degree from a Canadian university also benefit from this comparative advantage, since their rate of overqualification (43.6 %) is lower than that of immigrants to British Columbia (47.9 %). As to immigrants with a university degree earned abroad, in Quebec 64.9 % of them are overqualified for their job, compared with 64.6 % in Ontario and 70.2 % in British Columbia. Thus, immigrants in this latter province are more successful in finding work than their counterparts in Quebec, but their jobs are less likely to match their skills. Overall, Canadian-born workers are more likely than immigrants to be employed in the public sector and in union shops. However, between 2006 and 2010 we observe an improvement in these indicators among immigrants. Quebec's public sector has the best record for employing immigrants. In 2010, 16.5 % of immigrants with a job in Quebec were employed by this sector, versus 14.9 % in Ontario and 14.8 % in British Columbia. Since 2006, the public sector's share in the employment of immigrants has increased by three percentage points in Quebec, compared to less than two points in the other two provinces. Consequently, the record of the Government of Quebec and its agencies cannot be faulted in the matter of the recruitment of immigrants. <p> Immigrants increasingly opt for self-employment—and do so in a greater proportion than native-born Canadians. British Columbia is the province in which this form of employment is most widespread among immigrants (21.4 % in 2010). In Quebec, 18.7 % of immigrants created their own jobs (17.1 % in Ontario). This is a marked increase over 2006, when it was only 16.9 % (15.8 % in Ontario and 21.8 % in British Columbia). Promoting private initiative could play a central role in programs to foster integration into the labour market. <p> As is the case for those born in Canada, the rate of unionization is considerably higher among immigrants in Quebec (32 % in 2010) than in Ontario (24.7 %) and British Columbia (28.3 %), and this rate is rising steadily (30.4 % in Quebec in 2006). <p> The percentage of immigrants with a permanent job in 2010 was relatively lower in Quebec (84.9 %) than in Ontario (88.1 %) and British Columbia (89.1 %). The proportion of full-time jobs held by immigrants was 83.6 % in Quebec and 84.9 % in Ontario, versus only 80.7 % in British Columbia. With regard to wages, for each dollar earned by those born in Canada in 2010, immigrants earned $0.93 in Quebec and British Columbia and $0.95 in Ontario, on average. These earnings differentials do not account for differences between the characteristics of immigrants and those born in Canada. <p> Multivariate analysis reveals that the observable characteristics of immigrants to Quebec fall far short of explaining the gaps that exist between them and immigrants to Ontario and British Columbia in terms of the unemployment rate. For example, the gap between the unemployment rate of immigrants to Quebec and to British Columbia during the 2006–2010 period would only have fallen by one-fifth had the two provinces received the same type of immigrants. The Quebec-Ontario differential would have been cut by one-third. Consequently, immigrants to Quebec must contend with a labour market that appears inherently less open to hiring them. This situation may be attributed to a reluctance among Quebec employers to recruit immigrants. It is also possible that immigrants to Quebec are less likely to revise downward their expectations in order to adapt to market realities. So, they may refuse taking available jobs that do not match their expectations, and by doing so, they may risk a long spell of unemployment. <p> Notwithstanding the problems with integration detailed in this report, immigration remains a positive contribution: Overall, 87.6 % of immigrants aged 15 to 64 who are on the labour market—90.6 % of those with a university degree—have a job and are contributing to the socio-economic development of Quebec. <p> Immigration certainly plays an important role in boosting demographic growth and providing manpower to the labour market. However, it should not detract from the importance of other policies that affect the size and skill level of the labour force in the short and long term. The government should continue to promote investment in Quebec's school system, persist in combating dropping out school, and strengthen incentives to families to boost the birthrate. <P> |
| Date: | 2011–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirpro:2011rp-09&r=mig |
| By: | Picot, Garnett<br/> Hou, Feng |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the labour market benefits associated with becoming a citizen of the host country, in this case Canada or the United States. Recent international research indicates that there is an economic return to acquiring citizenship. In addition, the paper examines the rising gap in the citizenship rate between Canada and the United States and examines the differences in individual and region characteristics of immigrants as a possibility for explaining changes in the citizenship rate gap. |
| Keywords: | Children and youth, Ethnic diversity and immigration, Labour market activities, Immigrants and non-permanent residents, Citizenship |
| Date: | 2011–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2011338e&r=mig |
| By: | John Knight (Beijing Normal University); Quheng Deng (Beijing Normal University); Shi Li (Beijing Normal University) |
| Abstract: | Not available. |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:hcuwoc:201115&r=mig |
| By: | Victor Abramovich (Centre of Human Rights – University of Lanus); Pablo Ceriani Cernadas (Centre of Human Rights – University of Lanus); Alejandro Morlachetti (Centre of Human Rights – University of Lanus) |
| Abstract: | This paper is an updated version of a previous draft working paper entitled, "Migration, Children and Human Rights: Challenges and Opportunities". This paper aims to address the issue of children’s and women’s migration from a human rights perspective by highlighting: (i) the particular situation of children and adolescents within the migration-development nexus, (ii) the gender perspective at all stages of analysis and programming and (iii) the significant gaps within legislation and policies, that inhibit the formulation of effective and rights-based responses relating to children, adolescents and migration. |
| Keywords: | children’s and women’s migration, human rights,children's rights, adolescents and migration, equity, |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uce:wpaper:1103&r=mig |
| By: | Vincent Hogan (University College Dublin); Patrick Massey (Compecon Ltd); Shane Massey (Trinity College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | Rugby union only went professional in 1995, much later than other major team sports. League structures and arrangements regarding revenue sharing and salary caps differ between the three main European leagues. We consider the impact of these differences on competitive balance. In addition, unlike soccer, rugby does not require leagues to be organised along national lines, which has enabled the smaller rugby playing countries to establish a joint league. This has prevented a migration of all the best players to larger country leagues as has happened in soccer and resulted in a greater degree of competitive balance in European rugby competitions. |
| Keywords: | Rugby, Economics |
| Date: | 2011–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201118&r=mig |