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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Caroline Berchet (IRDES institut for research and information in health economics); Nicolas Sirven (IRDES institut for research and information in health economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new empirical evidence on the relationship between migration and social integration. It explores the hypothesis that migrants essentially differ from non-migrants with regard to the length of residence in the country – which is a proxy of migrants’ social distance to natives. The determinants of social participation and interpersonal trust are examined at both the individual and institutional level. Using SHARE data and macroeconomic series, we first analyse the influence of immigrant length of stay in the host country on social integration indicators. We then examine the role institutional characteristics play on cross-country differences in speed of social integration (i.e. immigrants’ propensity to social participation according to their length of stay in the host country). As expected, the immigrant population presents a lower likelihood than the native population to get involved in social activities and to trust other people. Nevertheless, the more immigrants have spent time in the host country, the more they take part in social activities. The analysis also reveals significant cross-country differences in immigrants’ speed of social integration. Macroeconomic series like the GINI coefficient of income inequality and the Corruption perceived index could explain these differences. From a public policy perspective, our results suggest that immigrants’ social integration is more rapidly achieved in “fair” countries – i.e. those with a more favourable social environment – where the levels of income inequality and perceived corruption are lower. |
| Keywords: | Social capital, Ageing, Income inequality, Multilevel models. |
| JEL: | F22 O52 C31 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irh:wpaper:dt46&r=mig |
| By: | Giulia Bettin (Università Politecnica delle Marche); Alessia Lo Turco (Università Politecnica delle Marche); Daniela Maggioni (Università Politecnica delle Marche) |
| Abstract: | A production-theory approach to migration is adopted in this paper to address the role of migrant workers from extra-EU countries in Italian manufacturing production at the firm-level. The use of exible functional forms to model firm-level technology lets us directly derive different measures of elasticity from the coefficients of the estimated production and cost functions. Cross price and demand elasticities confirm the complementarity found in previous studies between migrants and natives. However, the two labour inputs prove to be substitute in terms of Morishima elasticity of substition. The use of foreign labour is shown to affect also the industry composition. We find that, ceteris paribus, had migrant labour not grown in our sample period, the weight of Low Skill intensive sectors would have been approximately 2% lower and the white to blue collars ratio would have been slightly higher than observed, even accounting for the complementarity between natives and migrants. |
| Keywords: | Migrant Workers, Manufacturing Production Technology, migrant workers, manufacturing production technology, Elasticity of Substitution |
| JEL: | F22 D22 J61 L60 |
| Date: | 2012–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:328&r=mig |
| By: | Arbel, Yuval (School of Business, Carmel Academic Center); Tobol, Yossi (Jerusalem College of Technology (JTC)); Siniver, Erez (College of Management, Rishon Lezion Campus) |
| Abstract: | Previous studies of immigrant populations suggest that ceteris paribus (after controlling for the number of years in the receiving country and other socio-demographic variables), the level of income is strongly and positively correlated with fluency in the local language. Based on a phone survey held in 2005 among a representative sample of Former Soviet Union (FSU) immigrants, the current study extends this literature and investigates the possibility that the standard model is misspecified. Unlike previous surveys, our dataset includes detailed subjective questions on the degree of social involvement. Our findings indeed support the conclusion that the standard model is misspecified. At 1% significance level, immigrants who are better assimilated within the receiving country are 11% more likely to attain a level of income that is equal to or higher than the average level of net family monthly income. Moreover, compared to the incorrectly-specified model, at 1% significance level a shift from lower to intermediate and high level of language proficiency does not significantly increase the level of income. Consequently, marginal probabilities of income shift, which have been mistakenly attributed to better language proficiency in the misspecified model, should have been, in fact, attributed to a higher level of social involvement. Finally, stratification of the sample based on gender and marital status shows that compared to unmarried females, married males have a higher return on social involvement. Among married men (unmarried women) a higher level of social involvement significantly increases the chances for higher income level by 15% (only 4%). Research findings thus stress the important role of better social involvement, particularly among married males: a higher degree of social involvement leads to improved social networking and, in turn, to better job opportunities and higher income. |
| Keywords: | social involvement, income level, immigration, gender differences |
| JEL: | J15 Z13 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6416&r=mig |
| By: | Abdurrahman, Aydemir (Statistics Canada) |
| Abstract: | Attracting skilled immigrants is emerging as an important policy goal for immigrant receiving countries. This article first discusses the economic rationale for immigrant selection. Selection mechanisms of receiving countries are reviewed in the context of deteriorating labor market outcomes for immigrants across destination countries which fuels the debate on selection. Next, the variation in immigrant characteristics across countries and visa types is discussed. The article then reviews the evidence on labor market outcomes of immigrants by visa category that portrays the experiences of countries with different selection mechanisms and underlines the challenges for realizing aimed benefits of a skill based immigrant selection policy. |
| Keywords: | immigration, selection, immigration policy, visa category, point system |
| JEL: | J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6433&r=mig |
| By: | Mosfequs Salehin; Robert Breunig |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an overview of asylum migration from poor strife-prone countries to the OECD since the 1950s. I examine the political and economic factors in source countries that generate refugees and asylum seekers. Particular attention is given to the rising trend of asylum applications up to the 1990s, and the policy backlash that followed. I consider the political economy of restrictive asylum policies, especially in EU countries, as well as the effectiveness of those policies in deterring asylum seekers. The paper concludes with an outline of the assimilation of refugees in host country labour markets. Immigrants to Australia are selected on observable characteristics. They may also differ from natives on unobservable characteristics such as ambition or motivation. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, we find a wage gap for immigrant men from English-speaking backgrounds, in contrast with previous research. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity also seems important for finding cohort effects. Immigrants that arrived before 1976 faced a larger wage gap compared to native-born Australians than subsequent cohorts. Confirming other research, we find wage gaps for immigrant men and women from non-English speaking backgrounds. All immigrants experience wage assimilation as time spent in Australia increases. |
| Keywords: | immigrants; wage gap; assimilation; Australia; cohort effects |
| JEL: | J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:dpaper:661&r=mig |
| By: | Michele Binci (Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Università degli Studi di Firenze); Gianna Giannelli (Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Università degli Studi di Firenze) |
| Abstract: | This paper intends to contribute to the literature on the effects of domestic and international remittances on schooling and child labour. Using the information gathered in the 1992/93 and 1997/98 Vietnam Living Standards Surveys (VLSS), we examine separately the school attendance rates and the incidence of child labour in remittance recipient households, as compared to households where this income source is absent. We apply ordinary least squares regression for the two cross-sections and a fixed-effects linear regression for the panel, using as dependent variables the child labour and school attendance ratios of children in each household. Our results indicate that the average child belonging to a remittance recipient household has a lower probability of working and a greater probability of going to school. Although international remittances are found to have a stronger beneficial impact than domestic ones in the cross-sectional analysis, the panel analysis reverses this result, showing that the only significant impact stems from domestic remittances. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Remittances, Schooling, Child Labour, Panel Data, Vietnam |
| JEL: | F22 I39 J13 O15 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2012_08.rdf&r=mig |
| By: | James Ted McDonald; Ma. Rebecca Valenzuela |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a unique matched survey dataset to directly test remittance models using information from both remittance-sending and remittance-receiving households. Our results show that the decision to remit is strongly affected by both home and host country factors with altruism motive as an ubiquitous underlying element. We find that men’s behaviour is mainly influenced by their capacity to remit, not so for women. Further we show that job-to-skill mismatching is widespread among Filipinos overseas and depresses women’s remittances by over fifty per cent. Clearly, the economic and social losses associated with this kind of labour market outcome are significant. |
| Keywords: | Remittances, Immigrants, |
| JEL: | J24 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2012-09&r=mig |
| By: | Piracha, Matloob (University of Kent); Vadean, Florin (University of Kent) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the literature on educational mismatch of immigrants in the labour market of destination countries. It draws on the theoretical arguments postulated in the labour economics literature and discusses their extension in the analysis of the causes and effects of immigrants' educational mismatch in the destination country. Relevant empirical approaches have been presented which show that immigrants are in general more over-educated than natives and that the reasons for those range from imperfect transferability of human capital to discrimination to perhaps lack of innate ability. It then assesses the state of current literature and proposes an agenda for further research. |
| Keywords: | education-occupation mismatch, immigration |
| JEL: | J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6414&r=mig |
| By: | Duszczyk, Maciej (Warsaw University); Góra, Marek (Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Poland has traditionally been treated as an emigration country. Since recently Poland has been changing into an emigration-immigration country. The latter, namely immigration, was boosted by the European Union membership and by stable and strong growth of the country. In the last years, immigrants have started to play an important role in the Polish labour market, which creates an additional challenge for the institutional structure. At the same time the institutional framework for receiving immigrants, especially integration policy, has not been fully developed yet. It is addressed only to refugees and is provided mostly by NGOs who run various integration programmes (most often focused on providing language courses). Public expenditure on integration policies has recently increased. However, data on immigrants, integration in immigration policy and also its analysis are still scarce. In this paper we try to present and discuss the available information on immigration to Poland and instruments of integration policy in the context of the existing institutional framework. We propose also recommendations for the pre-integration and integration policy in Poland. The goal of the paper is modest since it is hardly possible to apply more sophisticated methods given the limited availability of information. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, integration policy, active inclusion |
| JEL: | J61 J68 Y80 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6427&r=mig |
| By: | König, Jan; Skupnik, Christoph |
| Abstract: | We apply a monopoly trade union model and analyze employment, wage and budgetary effects of (i) an inflow of migrant workers and (ii) an increase in the labor market participation rate of migrants. Per assumption, natives and migrants solely differ with respect to the level of benefit claims in a two-tier welfare system. Furthermore, the labor effects are studied under two types of union behavior. Analyzing the ceteris paribus labor market effects, we identify hidden costs and benefits of intensified integration that emerge from the design of the welfare program. We support previous findings in case of an inflow of migrant workers. More interesting, though, it is shown that a larger share of migrants in the workforce increases (decreases) the employment level, if the union represents (does not represent) migrant workers. -- |
| Keywords: | migration,welfare state,trade union |
| JEL: | F22 H53 J15 J2 J5 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fubsbe:20125&r=mig |
| By: | Simplice A , Asongu |
| Abstract: | How do economic prosperity, health expenditure, savings, price-stability, demographic change, democracy, corruption-control, press-freedom, government effectiveness, human development, foreign-aid, physical security, trade openness and financial liberalization play-out in the fight against health-worker crisis when existing emigration levels matter? Despite the acute concern of health-worker crisis in Africa owing to emigration, lack of relevant data has made the subject matter empirically void over the last decades. This paper assesses the theoretical postulations of the WHO report on determinants of health-worker migration. Findings provide a broad range of tools for the fight against health-worker brain-drain. As a policy implication, blanket emigration-control policies are unlikely to succeed equally across countries with different levels of emigration. Thus to be effective, immigration policies should be contingent on the prevailing levels of the crisis and tailored differently across countries with the best and worst records on fighting health worker emigration. |
| Keywords: | Welfare; Health; Human Capital; Migration |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J24 D60 I10 |
| Date: | 2012–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:37632&r=mig |
| By: | Combes, Pierre-Philippe; Duranton, Gilles; Gobillon, Laurent; Roux, Sébastien |
| Abstract: | This paper provides descriptive evidence about the distribution of wages and skills in denser and less dense employment areas in France. We confirm that on average, workers in denser areas are more skilled. There is also strong overrepresentation of workers with particularly high and low skills in denser areas. These features are consistent with patterns of migration including negative selection of migrants to less dense areas and positive selection towards denser areas. Nonetheless migration, even in the longrun, accounts for little of the skill differences between denser and less dense areas. Finally, we find marked differences across age groups and some suggestions that much of the skill differences across areas can be explained by differences between occupational groups rather than within. |
| Keywords: | skill distribution; sorting; wage distribution |
| JEL: | J31 J61 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:8920&r=mig |
| By: | Nonneman W. |
| Abstract: | 15% of the total Belgian school population has an immigrant background. PISA 2009 results show that Belgium – despite being in the top 15 performers of all OECD participants - has one of the highest performance differences in Europe between children with and without an immigrant background. Furthermore, second generation immigrant children are doing worse than first generation immigrant children. This paper explores the determinants of school achievement, school failure and sorting of children with an immigrant background, using a new large survey of Flemish school children. The theoretical framework is based on the education production function literature and specific empirical socioeconomic literature on immigrant children, suggesting that personal factors, family conditions, school, peers, neighborhood, type of acculturation and history of migration matter to explain school achievement and failure. The empirical results show that unexplained differences between students with a Flemish, Turkish and Moroccan background remain after controlling for personal and background influences. A key finding is the large impact of innate ability and individual effort for all groups. |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ant:wpaper:2012008&r=mig |
| By: | Simplice A, Asongu |
| Abstract: | Owing to lack of relevant data on health human resource migration, the empirical dimension of the health-worker crisis debate has remained void despite abundant theoretical literature. A health worker crisis is overwhelming the world. Shortages in health professionals are reaching staggering levels in many parts of the globe. This paper complements existing literature by empirically investigating the WHO hypothetical determinants of health-worker migration in the context of globalization when income-levels matter. In plainer terms, the work explores how the wealth of exporting countries play-out in the determinants of HHR emigration. We assess the determinants of emigration in the health sector through-out the conditional distribution of health human resource emigration. Findings provide very targeted policy implications based on income-levels and existing emigration levels for both physician and nurse worker crises. Beside specific policy recommendations, we also outlined broad policy measures for source-countries, recipient-states and regional(international) institutions. |
| Keywords: | Welfare; Health; Human Capital; Migration |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J24 D60 I10 |
| Date: | 2012–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:37633&r=mig |
| By: | Jessie Bakens (VU University Amsterdam); Peter Mulder (VU University Amsterdam); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | This paper identifies the role of cultural diversity in explaining spatial disparities in wages and housing prices across Dutch cities, using unique individual panel data of home owners. We distinguish between the effects of interactions-based productivity, consumption amenities and sorting of heterogeneous home owners while controlling for interactions between the labor and housing market. We find that an increase in the cultural diversity of the population positively impacts equilibrium wages and housing prices, particularly in the largest and most densely populated cities. This result is largely driven by spatial sorting of individuals in both the labor and housing market. After controlling for home owner heterogeneity we find that increasing cultural diversity no longer impacts local labor markets and negatively impacts local housing markets. The latter result is likely to be driven by a negative causal effect of increased cultural diversity on neighb orhood quality that outweighs a positive effect of increased cultural diversity in consumption goods. |
| Keywords: | cultural diversity; immigrants; local amenities; sorting; housing prices; productivity |
| JEL: | J31 R21 R23 R31 |
| Date: | 2012–03–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20120024&r=mig |
| By: | Simpson, Nicole B. (Colgate University); Sparber, Chad (Colgate University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a gravity model of migration to analyze how income differentials affect the flow of immigrants into U.S. states using annual data from the American Community Survey. We add to existing literature by decomposing income differentials into short- and long-term components and by focusing on newly arrived less-educated immigrants between 2000-2009. Our sample is unique in that 95 percent of our observed immigrant flows equal zero. We accommodate for the zeros by using scaled ordinary least squares, a threshold tobit model from Eaton and Tamura (1994), and the two-part model to analyze the determinants of immigration. Models that include observations with zero flow values find that recent male immigrants respond to differences in (short-term) GDP fluctuations between origin countries and U.S. states, and perhaps to (long-term) trend GDP differences as well. More specifically, short-run GDP fluctuations pull less-educated male immigrants into certain U.S. states, whereas GDP trends push less-educated male immigrants out of their countries of origin. Effects for less-educated women are less robust, as GDP coefficient magnitudes tend to be much smaller than in regressions for men. |
| Keywords: | GDP, macroeconomics, immigration, gravity |
| JEL: | J61 E01 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6437&r=mig |
| By: | Alessandra Casaric (Bocconi University, CES-Ifo, Econpubblica and Centro Studi Luca d\'Agliano); Giovanni Facchini (Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Milan, CEPR, CES-Ifo,CReAM, IZA, and LdA); Tommaso Frattini (University of Milan, CReAM, IZA and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano) |
| Abstract: | We study the migration policy set by a welfare maximizing government in a model where immigrant workers differ in their skills and are imperfectly matched with heterogenous occupations. The policy fixes a minimum skill level for legal migrants, and foreign workers that fall below it can only enter the country illegally. We start by analyzing under which conditions an amnesty is desirable compared to tolerating undocumented immigrants. Next, we study when it is preferable to have ex-ante lax enforcement, rather than to carry out costly enforcement. We show that three channels play an important role in this decision: an amnesty is more likely the larger are the output gains brought about by the legalization, the less redistributive is the welfare state and the higher is the expected cost of criminal activities carried out by illegal immigrants. Importantly, we also find that, when an amnesty is desirable, the destination country would reach an even higher welfare level investing in enforcement ex-ante. Empirical evidence based on a novel panel dataset of legalization programs carried out by a group of OECD countries between 1980-2007 broadly supports the role played by the channels identified in our theoretical model. |
| Keywords: | Illegal immigration, Immigration Policy, Amnesties, Labor Market Mismatch |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:330&r=mig |
| By: | Giovanni Facchini (Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Milan, CEPR, CES-Ifo, CReAM, IZA and LdA); Anna Maria Mayda (Georgetown University, Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano, CEPR and IZA); Mariapia Mendola (University of Milan Bicocca and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano) |
| Abstract: | Using census data for 1996, 2001 and 2007 we study the labor market effect of immigration in South Africa. In this period the share of foreign born over the total population has grown by almost fifty percent, and both the characteristics and geographical distribution of immigrants show substantial variation over time. We exploit these features of the data to carry out an analysis that combines both the “spatial correlation” approach pioneered by Card (1990) and the variation across schooling and experience groups used by Borjas (2003). We estimate that increased immigration has a negative effect on natives’ employment outcomes, but not on total income. Furthermore, we find that skilled South Africans appear to be the most negatively affected subgroup of the population. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Labor market effects, South Africa |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:331&r=mig |
| By: | Alex Bryson; Giambattista Rossi; Rob Simmons |
| Abstract: | In efficient global labour markets for very high wage workers one might expect wage differentials between migrant and domestic workers to reflect differences in labour productivity. However, using panel data on worker-firm matches in a single industry over a seven year period we find a substantial wage penalty for domestic workers which persists within firms and is only partially accounted for by individual labour productivity. We show that the differential partly reflects the superstar status of migrant workers. This superstar effect is also apparent in migrant effects on firm performance. But the wage differential also reflects domestic workers' preferences for working in their home region, an amenity for which they are prepared to take a compensating wage differential, or else are forced to accept in the face of employer monopsony power which does not affect migrant workers. |
| Keywords: | wages, migration, superstars, productivity, compensating wage differentials, sports |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J61 J71 M52 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1134&r=mig |