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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Ribar, David C. (University of North Carolina, Greensboro) |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses research questions related to immigrants' time use, reviews conceptual and methodological approaches to examining time allocations, and reviews evidence from previous studies. It provides new descriptive evidence, using time-diary data from the American Time Use Survey. Although results vary with the country of origin, immigrant men in the U.S. tend to devote more time to market work and sleeping but less time to housework, community activities, and leisure than native men. Immigrant women tend to devote more time to housework, caregiving and sleep but less time to market work, community activities, and leisure than native women. |
| Keywords: | time use, immigrants |
| JEL: | J22 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6931&r=mig |
| By: | Constant, Amelie F. (George Washington University); Nottmeyer, Olga (IZA); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Circular migration receives increasing attention due to its empirical relevance and as a policy concept to manage labor flows. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of circular movements for all parties. It studies the characteristics of circular movers worldwide and investigates the consequences of restrictive migration policies. Recent policy initiatives that aim to manage circular labor movement are also analyzed. |
| Keywords: | geographic labor mobility, immigrant workers, international migration, remittances |
| JEL: | J61 F22 F24 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6940&r=mig |
| By: | Strobl, Eric (Ecole Polytechnique, Paris); Valfort, Marie-Anne (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | Relying on census data collected in 2002 and historical weather data for Uganda, we estimate the impact of weather-induced internal migration on the probability for non-migrants living in the destination regions to be employed. Our results reveal a significant negative impact. Consistent with the prediction of a simple theoretical model, they further show that this negative impact is significantly stronger in regions with lower road density and therefore less conducive to capital mobility: a 10 percentage points increase in the net in-migration rate in these areas decreases the probability of being employed of non-migrants by more than 20 percentage points. |
| Keywords: | weather shocks, internal migration, labor market, Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | E24 J21 J61 Q54 R23 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6923&r=mig |
| By: | Danzer, Alexander M. (University of Munich); Yaman, Firat (City University London) |
| Abstract: | It is widely debated whether immigrants who live among co-ethnics are less willing to integrate into the host society. Exploiting the quasi-experimental guest worker placement across German regions during the 1960/70s as well as information on immigrants' inter-ethnic contact networks and social activities, we are able to identify the causal effect of ethnic concentration on social integration. The exogenous placement of immigrants "switches off" observable and unobservable differences in the willingness or ability to integrate which have confounded previous studies. Evidence suggests that the presence of co-ethnics increases migrants' interaction cost with natives and thus reduces the likelihood of integration. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, integration, enclaves, political participation, culture, social interaction, guest workers, natural experiment |
| JEL: | J15 R23 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6939&r=mig |
| By: | Kudo, Yuya |
| Abstract: | In a traditional system of exogamous and patrilocal marriage prevalent in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, when she marries, a rural woman typically leaves her kin to reside with her husband living outside her natal village. Since a village that allows a widow to inherit her late husband's land can provide her with old age security, single females living outside the village are more likely to marry into the village. Using a natural experimental setting, provided by the longitudinal household panel data drawn from rural Tanzania for the period from 1991 to 2004, during which several villages that initially banned a widow's land inheritance removed this discrimination, this study provides evidence in support of this view, whereby altering a customary land inheritance rules in a village in favor of widows increased the probability of males marrying in that village. This finding suggests that providing rural women with old age protection (e.g., insurance, livelihood protection) has remarkable spatial and temporal welfare effects by influencing their decision to marry. |
| Keywords: | Tanzania, Social security, Women welfare, Land tenure, Aged, Migration, Demography, Gender empowerment, Land ownership, Social custom, Widowhood |
| JEL: | J12 J14 K11 Q15 R23 |
| Date: | 2012–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper368&r=mig |
| By: | Larsen, Birthe (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School); Waisman, Gisela (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of discrimination on labour market performance when workers are subject to a risk of losing skills during the experience of unemployment. Within a search and matching model, we show that all natives and immigrants are affected by discrimination. Discrimination in one sector has positive spillovers, inducing employment increases in the other sector. <p>Discrimination may induce immigrants to train more or less than natives, depending on the sector where it is present. <p>Welfare tends to be most negatively affected by discrimination among high- productivity workers. |
| Keywords: | discrimination; unemployment; search and matching; wages |
| JEL: | J15 J31 J61 J64 J71 |
| Date: | 2012–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cbsnow:2012_005&r=mig |
| By: | A. Kubis; Lutz Schneider |
| Abstract: | Since the fall of the iron curtain in 1989, the migration deficit of the Eastern part of Germany has accumulated to 1.8 million people, which is over ten percent of its initial population. Depending on their human capital endowment, these migrants might either – in the case of low-skilled migration – accelerate or – in high-skilled case – impede convergence. Due to the availability of detailed data on regional human capital, migration and productivity growth, we are able to test how geographic mobility affects convergence via the human capital selectivity of migration. With regard to the endogeneity of the migration flows and human capital, we apply a dynamic panel data model within the framework of β-convergence and account for spatial dependence. The regressions indicate a positive, robust, but modest effect of a migration surplus on regional productivity growth. After controlling for human capital, the effect of migration decreases; this decrease indicates that skill selectivity is one way that migration impacts growth. |
| Keywords: | human capital mobility, regional growth, spatial panel models |
| JEL: | R23 R11 C23 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:9-12&r=mig |
| By: | Marina Murat; Davide Ferrari; Patrizio Frederic |
| Abstract: | Using data from PISA 2006 on 29 countries, this paper analyses immigrant school gaps (difference in scores between immigrants and natives) and focuses on tracking and comprehensive educational systems. Results show that the wider negative gaps are present where tracking is sharp and less frequently in countries with comprehensive schooling. In both cases, negative gaps are concentrated in continental Western Europe, where they are also often related to immigrants and natives attending different schools, or are significant within schools. |
| Keywords: | Immigrant students; educational systems; PISA; |
| JEL: | F22 I21 |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:depeco:0683&r=mig |
| By: | Jonathan Wadsworth |
| Abstract: | During periods of strong economic growth, migration is and has always been important for filling gaps in the labour market. On balance, the evidence for the UK labour market suggests that fears about the consequences of rising immigration have been exaggerated. It is hard to find evidence of much displacement of UK workers or lower wages, on average. Immigrants, especially in recent years, tend to be younger and better educated than the UK-born and are less likely to be unemployed. They certainly do not receive preferential access to housing. But there have been some effects. The less skilled may have experienced greater downward pressure on wages and greater competition for jobs than others, but these effects still appear to have been modest. Unfortunately we do not know much about whether the effects of immigration are different in downturns. We also need to understand more about how capital and sectoral shifts in demand respond to immigration over the longer run. Future migration trends will, as ever, depend on relative economic performance and opportunity. But we still need to know more about the effects of rising immigration beyond the labour market in areas like prices, housing, health, crime and welfare. |
| Keywords: | immigration, government policy, education, labour market, jobs, wages |
| Date: | 2012–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceppap:014&r=mig |
| By: | Hunt, Jennifer (Rutgers University) |
| Abstract: | Using a state panel based on census data from 1940-2010, I examine the impact of immigration on the high school completion of natives in the United States. Immigrant children could compete for schooling resources with native children, lowering the return to native education and discouraging native high school completion. Conversely, native children might be encouraged to complete high school in order to avoid competing with immigrant high-school dropouts in the labor market. I find evidence that both channels are operative and that the net effect is positive, particularly for native-born blacks, though not for native-born Hispanics. An increase of one percentage point in the share of immigrants in the population aged 11-64 increases the probability that natives aged 11-17 eventually complete 12 years of schooling by 0.3 percentage points, and increases the probability for native-born blacks by 0.4 percentage points. I account for the endogeneity of immigrant flows by using instruments based on 1940 settlement patterns. |
| Keywords: | immigration, education |
| JEL: | J15 I21 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6904&r=mig |
| By: | Bevelander, Pieter (Malmö University); Pendakur, Ravi (University of Ottawa) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the employment and earnings trajectories of refugee and family reunion category immigrants in Canada and Sweden using two national level sources of data. The Canadian Immigration Database (IMDB) is a file that links the intake record of post 1979 immigrants with annual taxation records. The 2007 Swedish Register Data includes information on all legal permanent residents. Using standard regression methods we compare labour force outcomes of age-sex-schooling-place of birth cohorts looking specifically at non-economic (family reunion and refugee intake) immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia. We find that the employment and earning trajectories of the selected non-economic migrant groups are quite similar in the two host countries, although earnings are higher in Canada than in Sweden. |
| Keywords: | refugees, immigrants, family reunion, labour market integration, comparison |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6924&r=mig |
| By: | Waisman, Gisela (Stockholm University); Larsen, Birthe (Department of Economics, Copenhagen Business School) |
| Abstract: | We exploit the regional variation in negative attitudes towards immigrants to Sweden in order to analyse the consequences of the attitudes on immigrants welfare. We find that attitudes towards immigrants are of importance: they both affect their labour market outcomes and their quality of life. We interpret the negative effect on wages as evidence of labour market discrimination. We estimate the welfare effects of negative attitudes, through their wage and local amenities, for immigrants with different levels of skills, origin, gender and age. |
| Keywords: | Attitudes towards immigration; Geographical Mobility; Wages; Amenities |
| JEL: | J15 J31 J61 J71 |
| Date: | 2012–01–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cbsnow:2012_004&r=mig |
| By: | Tani, Massimiliano (Macquarie University, Sydney) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact of a change in Australia's immigration policy, introduced on 1st July 1999, on migrants' probability of being over-/under-educated or correctly matched. The policy change consists of stricter entry requirements about age, language ability, education, and work experience. The results indicate that those who entered under more stringent conditions – the second cohort – have a lower probability to be overeducated and a correspondingly higher probability of being better matched than those in the first cohort. The policy change appears to have reduced the incidence of over-education among women, enhanced the relevance of being educated in Australia to be correctly matched, and attracted a higher proportion of immigrants that were already under-utilised (or over-achieving) in their home countries. Overall, the policy appears to have brought immigrants that reduced the over-under-education of Australia's labour market. |
| Keywords: | immigration policy, over- and under-education, migration |
| JEL: | C34 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6937&r=mig |
| By: | Blau, Francine D. (Cornell University); Kahn, Lawrence M. (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | We review research on the impact of immigration on income distribution. We discuss routes through which immigration can affect income distribution in the host and source countries, including compositional effects and effects on native incomes. Immigration may affect the composition of skills among the residents of a country. Moreover, immigrants can, by changing relative factor supplies, affect native wage and employment rates and the return to capital. We then provide evidence on the level and recent increases in immigration to OECD countries and on the distribution of native and immigrant educational attainment. We next provide a decomposition of 1979-2009 changes in US wage inequality, highlighting the effects of immigration on workforce composition. We then consider the economic theory of the impact of immigration on income distribution, emphasizing labor market substitution and complementarity between natives and immigrants. Further, by changing job opportunities or child care availability, immigrants can affect family, as well as individual, income distribution. We review research methodologies used to estimate the impact of immigration on the native income distribution. These include the structural approach (estimating substitution and complementarity among factors of production, including capital and labor force groups) as well as the natural experiment approach (seeking exogenous sources of variation in immigration) to studying the labor market. We then discuss evidence on these questions for Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Portugal, Spain and the United States, as well as the impact of emigration on source country income distribution. |
| Keywords: | international migration, factor income distribution |
| JEL: | D33 J61 |
| Date: | 2012–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6921&r=mig |