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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Catia Batista; Janis Umblijs |
| Abstract: | How do risk preferences affect migrant remittance behaviour? Examination of this relationship has only begun to be explored. Using a tailored representative survey of 1500 immigrants in the Greater Dublin Area, Ireland, we find a positive and significant relationship between risk aversion and migrant remittances. Risk-averse individuals are more likely to send remittances home and are, on average, likely to remit a higher amount, after controlling for a broad range of individual and group characteristics. The evidence we obtain is consistent with a “purchase of self-insurance” motive to remit in that we also find support for more remittances being sent by risk-averse immigrants who face higher wage risks and to individuals with more financial resources. JEL codes: D81, F22, F24, J15, J61 |
| Keywords: | Migration, Risk Aversion, Remittances, Self-Insurance |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unl:unlfep:novaf:wp1402&r=mig |
| By: | Andreas Steinmayr |
| Abstract: | A key problem in the literature on the economics of migration is how emigration of an individual affects households left behind. Answers to this question must confront a problem I refer to as invisible sample selection: when entire households migrate, no information about them remains in their source country. Since estimation is typically based on source country data, invisible sample selection yields biased estimates if all-move households differ from households that send only a subset of their members abroad. I address this identification problem and derive nonparametric bounds within a principal stratification framework. Instrumental variables estimates are biased, even if all-move households do not differ in their potential outcomes. For this case, I derive a corrected instrumental variables estimator. I illustrate the approach using individual and household data from widely cited, recent studies. Potential bias from invisible sample selection can be large, but transparent assumptions regarding behaviors of household members and selectivity of migrants allow identification of informative bounds |
| Keywords: | Sample selection, migration, selectivity, principal stratification |
| JEL: | C21 F22 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1975&r=mig |
| By: | Dinh, Ngan (University of Cambridge); Hughes, Conor (National Bureau of Economic Research); Hughes, James W. (Bates College); Maurer-Fazio, Margaret (Bates College) |
| Abstract: | Human trafficking is one of the most widely spread and fastest growing crimes in the world. However, despite the scope of the problem, the important human rights issues at stake and the professed intent of governments around the world to put an end to "modern day slavery", there is very little that is actually known about the nature of human trafficking and those most at risk as potential victims. This is due in large part to the difficulty in collecting reliable and statistically useful data. In this paper we present the results of a pilot study run in rural Vietnam with the aim of overcoming these data issues. Rather than attempt to identify victims themselves, we rely on the form rural migration often takes in urbanizing developing countries to instead identify households that were sources of trafficking victims. This allows us to construct a viable sampling frame, on which we conduct a survey using novel techniques such as anchoring vignettes, indirect sampling, list randomization and social network analysis to construct a series of empirically valid estimates that can begin to shed light on the problem of human trafficking. |
| Keywords: | human trafficking, labor migration, Vietnam, household survey, indirect sampling, social network analysis, pilot study, public policy |
| JEL: | J47 J61 J82 K42 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8686&r=mig |
| By: | Idan Porat; Lucien Penguigui |
| Abstract: | Migration is an important aspect of human society. It has existed throughout history, but in modern times it takes a new form. We propose a new approach to the world migration phenomenon as two complex directed networks (immigration and emigration) were countries represents network nodes, and migration between countries represents directed links. We compose a general picture by evaluating both countries of sources of migrants and countries of receivers of migrants for which there are reliable data and statistics. Here we analyze the migration networks of 216 destination and source countries and territories (2006-2010), according to World Bank data. We evaluated two main parameters: degree (D) - the number of links of a country with the rest of the world; and weight (W) - the number of migrants to and from a country. Weight represents the extent of the migration to/from a country and degree represents the connectivity of a country to the global migration network. Statistical analysis of the degree and weight distributions offers a strong potential contribution to understanding of migration as global phenomena. Our findings suggest that source countries network has homogeneous distribution of weight and of degree and a strong correlation between them. The degree distribution of the source countries is Gaussian, indicating some universality in the emigration phenomenon. The distribution of the receiving countries shows a completely different pattern and we identify three main groups of countries and two main strategies of migration to destination countries: a) countries with high degree and high weight, representing a "global world" of high connectivity strategy; b) countries with low degree, representing a "local world" strategy with some high weight links; c) isolated countries of low connectivity and low migration flow. The migration is essentially a global and general process with similar characteristics and strategies regarding connectivity and flows. This indicates that questions about the origins and/or dynamics of the process. The efficiency of national policies can be asked for all countries since there are similarities between countries that are not considered as 'migration countries'. Consequently much general approach towards the phenomena is needed and a much larger view is required. |
| Keywords: | Immigration; Emigration; Networks; Degree |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa14p60&r=mig |
| By: | Zhiling Wang; Thomas de Graaff; Peter Nijkamp |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the impact of cultural composition on regional attractiveness from the perspective of migrant sorting behaviour. We use an attitudinal survey to quantify cultural distances between natives and immigrants in the area concerned, and estimate the migrants¡¯ varying preferences for both cultural diversity and cultural distance. To account for regional unobserved heterogeneity, our econometric analysis employs artificial instrumental variables, as developed by Bayer et al. (2004a). The main conclusions are twofold. On the one hand, cultural diversity increases regional attractiveness. On the other hand, average cultural distance greatly weakens regional attractiveness, even when the presence of network effect is controlled for. |
| Keywords: | migration; cultural diversity; cultural distance; destination choice; sorting; |
| JEL: | R23 Z1 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa14p1147&r=mig |
| By: | Lucia Mangiavacchi (University of Balearic Islands, Spain); Federico Perali (University of Verona, Italy); Luca Piccoli (University of Balearic Islands, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This study proposes a novel approach for estimating the rules governing the distribution of resources among wife, husband and children, using a complete collective demand system with individual Engel effects. The model contributes to the literature by explicitly modeling intrahousehold inequality and offering a powerful tool to analyze the impact of specific factors or policies on the share of resources of each household member. We apply the model to Albania, a country where gender and inter-generation inequalities are relevant social issues stemming from traditional patriarchal family values and massive international migration of male adults. The results show that the female share of resources is substantially lower respect to a fair distribution. The share of resources freed by the male migrant shifts to the left behind children but not to women, especially when migration increases the influence of women in the decision making process. This effect is increasing with the proportion of daughters. |
| Keywords: | Intrahousehold distribution, individual welfare, collective consumption models, sharing rule, migration, left behind, Albania. |
| JEL: | D13 H31 I32 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2014-344&r=mig |
| By: | Ganguli, Ina (Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how high-skilled immigrants contribute to knowledge diffusion using a rich dataset of Russian scientists and US citations to Soviet-era publications. Analysis of a panel of US cities and scientific fields shows that citations to Soviet-era work increased significantly with the arrival of immigrants. A difference-in-differences analysis with matched paper-pairs also shows that after Russian scientists moved to the US, citations to their Soviet-era papers increased relative to control papers. Both strategies reveal scientific field-specific effects. Ideas in high-impact papers and papers previously accessible to US scientists were the most likely to "spill over" to natives. |
| Keywords: | high skill immigration; citations; innovation; Russia |
| JEL: | J40 J61 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–11–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:hasite:0030&r=mig |
| By: | Michel Dimou; Alexandra Schaffar |
| Abstract: | The main objective of this paper is to understand the effects of regional migration of households over city-size distribution, urban growth and real estate prices. The paper aims to study regional migration of elderly households, mainly those over 50, in France during the last 20 years, by emphasizing on the consequences of migration from households that quit their initial regions in order to settle in the French Riviera where weather is better and climate and natural amenities are higher. Most studies on cities' demographics focus on migration of young workers and households seeking better wages and urban amenities. However, in some cases, such as in Arizona and Florida in the US or in the French Riviera in Europe, urban demographical growth is driven mostly by elderly settlement, not interested in wages differentials but in climate amenities and real-estate prices differentials. Previous work on the way climate affects migration has been delivered from Glaeser and Tobio (2007), Rappaport (2007) and Chesire and Magrini (2009), for US and Europe. However none of these studies has specifically focused on elderly migration. Economic literature draws back to seminal work from Graves (1979) who delivered the first life-cycle empirical analysis of migration with regards to climate. The paper focuses on elderly migration in France. It aims to understand the way this migration flows affect urban growth patterns in the French Mediterranean Coast, from Marseille to Nice. The paper also focuses on the consequences of such migrations on real-estate prices and the eviction of young households' migration, mainly because of the fact that it becomes impossible for them to settle in such high-priced region. The paper uses 1995-2010 data both from the French National Statistic Institute (INSEE) and from the PERVAL Agency where all real-estate sales are registered. From a methodological point of view, it delivers three types of models: rank-size models (Ibragimov and Gabaix, 2011), urban growth models (Schaffar and Dimou, 2011) and real-estate prices' analysis that takes into account spatial autocorrelation effects (Basile and al, 2013). |
| Keywords: | Migration; urban growth; city-size distribution. |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa14p256&r=mig |
| By: | Kazi Iqbal; Paritosh K Roy |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how changes in climatic variables such as temperature and rainfall impact migration through agriculture. We use district level data (64 districts) for 3 inter-census periods (1974-1980, 1981-1990 and 1991-2000) to analyze historical migration related outcomes. We find that fluctuations in temperature and rainfall contributed to a decline in agricultural productivity as measured by revenues from agriculture. Fixed Effect and Instrumental Variable estimations show that about one standard deviation decrease in real per capita agricultural revenue increases the net out-migration rate by 1.4 to 2.4 percent, controlling for unobserved effects for districts and years. Using our estimates and available forecasts in the literature, we predict that the net out-migration rate will be about 22 percent higher in 2030 than in 1990, assuming the variability in temperature stays stable and there are no behavioural responses from the farmers. |
| Keywords: | Weather Variability, Agricultural Impacts, Internal Migration, Developing Countries Climate Change, Adaptation |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:snd:wpaper:84&r=mig |
| By: | Buch, Tanja; Hamann, Silke; Niebuhr, Annekatrin; Rossen, Anja |
| Abstract: | Human capital is a driving factor of innovation and economic growth. Economic prospects of cities depend on high qualified workers' knowledge and therefore, attracting highly qualified workers plays a fundamental role for cities' prospects. This study contributes to the question which factors primarily determine the mobility-decision of highly qualified workers by investigating the determinants of the migration balance of German cities between 2000 and 2010. Furthermore, it compares the effects of several labour- and amenity-related variables on migration rates of highly qualified workers and the remaining workforce. Findings suggest that local labour market conditions influence the mobility decision but amenities matter too for the high-skilled. The preferences of the highly qualified workers partly differ from those of the rest of the workforce. However, there are also several factors that do not show systematic differences across skill groups. |
| Keywords: | migration,cities,qualification level,highly qualified,labour market conditions,amenities,Germany |
| JEL: | C23 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hwwirp:159&r=mig |
| By: | Boubtane, Ekrame (University Paris 1); Dumont, Jean-Christophe (OECD); Rault, Christophe (University of Orléans) |
| Abstract: | This paper offers a reappraisal of the impact of migration on economic growth for 22 OECD countries between 1986-2006 and relies on a unique data set we compiled that allows us to distinguish net migration of the native-born and foreign-born by skill level. Specifically, after introducing migration in an augmented Solow-Swan model, we estimate a dynamic panel model using a system of generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) to deal with the risk of an endogeneity bias of the migration variables. Two important findings emerge from our analysis. First, there exists a positive impact of migrants' human capital on economic growth. And second, the contribution of immigrants to human capital accumulation tends to dominate the mechanical dilution effect while the net effect is fairly small. This conclusion holds even in countries with highly selective migration policies. |
| Keywords: | immigration, growth, human capital, generalized methods of moments |
| JEL: | C23 F22 J24 J61 O41 O47 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8681&r=mig |
| By: | Amos C Peters; Asha Sundaram (SALDRU and School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | We study the relationship between country of origin and employment prospects for immigrants to South Africa, an emerging host country characterized by high levels of unemployment, labour market imperfections and a scarcity of skills. Using the 2001 South African census, we estimate the probability of being employed for working-age immigrant men and South African internal migrants. We find that, conditional on individual characteristics and education levels, the probability of being employed varies by country of origin, and that it is different for immigrants relative to native internal migrants. Immigrants from advanced sending countries outperform natives, while those from certain central, west-African and Asian countries underperform them. Additionally, results indicate that education increases the probability of employment for immigrants from all countries. These probabilities converge at high levels of education, resulting in greater dispersion of employment probabilities across countries at lower levels of education. |
| Keywords: | South Africa, Migration, Employment, South-south migration |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:136&r=mig |
| By: | Andreas Beerli; Ronald Indergand |
| Abstract: | A pervasive, yet little acknowledged feature of international migration to developed countries is that newly arriving immigrants are increasingly highly skilled since the 1980s. This paper analyses the determinants of changes in the skill composition of immigrants using a framework suggested by Grogger & Hanson (2011). We focus on Switzerland, which continuously showed very high immigration rates and dramatic changes in the skill composition of immigrants. In addition, the recent integration of Switzerland into the European labour market in 2002 serves as a policy experiment which allows analysing the influence of a reduction on immigration restrictions on immigrants from European countries in comparison to those from other countries. Our findings suggest that changes of education supply in origin countries and shifts to the relative demand for education groups stand out as the two most important drivers. Yet, while supply alone predicts only a modest increase in the case of highly educated workers and a large increase of middle educated workers, one particular demand channel, the polarisation of labour demand induced by the adoption of computer capital, is crucial to explain the sharp increase in highly educated workers and the mere stabilisation of the share of middle educated immigrant workers. The abolition of quotas for EU residents played a smaller role, yet may have slightly reduced the high skill share among immigrants relative to immigrants from other countries. |
| Keywords: | International migration, self selection, migration policy, job polarisation |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:182&r=mig |
| By: | Ferrer, Ana (University of Waterloo); Picot, Garnett (Queen's University); Riddell, W. Craig (University of British Columbia, Vancouver) |
| Abstract: | Canada's immigration system is currently undergoing significant change driven by several goals that include (1) a desire to improve the economic outcomes of entering immigrants; (2) an attempt to better respond to short-term regional labor market shortages often associated with commodity booms, and (3) a desire to shift immigration away from the three largest cities to other regions of the country. These goals reflect the implementation of new immigration programs in the 2000s. The paper discusses the recent changes to Canadian immigration policy, examines preliminary evaluations of the new programs and discusses potential future issues emanating from the changes. |
| Keywords: | migration, immigration policy, immigrant selection, points system, human capital, temporary foreign workers |
| JEL: | J11 J24 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8682&r=mig |
| By: | Deluna, Roperto Jr; Darius, Artigo |
| Abstract: | This paper was conducted to examine the pull-factor determinants of Filipino international migration. This study employed Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation of gravity model using panel data consisting of 27 countries of destinations from 2007 to 2011. Results of the study revealed that migration flow over the years is increasing. Furthermore, 39% of Filipino migrants were located in USA, this is followed by Canada, UK, Australia and Italy which is the home of 34%, 15%, 5% and 3% of Filipinos respectively. Estimation results of the determinants of Filipino international migration showed that GDP, unemployment rate, cost of living, fiscal freedom, religion, distance and being a member of OECD are not significant pull factor indicators of Filipino migration. Furthermore, it revealed that Filipino migration is significantly and positively affected by population in the destination country. It shows the higher expectancy of migrants to acquire jobs in the destination country. Moreover, Filipino migrants preferred to migrate to a country which has less corruption and that English speaking countries are preferred destination by Filipino migrants. |
| Keywords: | International Migration, OLS, Panel Data, Fixed and Random Effects |
| JEL: | C33 F22 J11 |
| Date: | 2014–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:60156&r=mig |
| By: | Marie-Laurence Flahaux; Cris Beauchemin; Bruno Schoumaker |
| Abstract: | The MAFE surveys (Migrations between Africa and Europe) reveal a downtrend in return migrations, notably among migrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). A large majority of returns are spontaneous, rather than forced or encouraged by the host country. Only 16% of Senegalese migrants and 15% of Congolese reported returning home because of difficulties in Europe, including “problems with residence status”. Decisions to return home are strongly dependent on the prospects of reintegration in the home country. Moreover, the barriers to immigration set in place by European countries tend to lower migrants’ propensity to return home. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idg:posoce:515&r=mig |
| By: | Rodríguez-Planas, Núria (Queens College, CUNY); Nollenberger, Natalia (Queen Mary, University of London) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses how new immigrants to Spain fare in the country's labor market, evaluating the conditions under which they are able to find employment, and their progress out of unskilled work into middle-skilled jobs. Using Spanish Labor Force Survey data from 2000 through 2011, we find that immigrants who arrived before the 2008 recession had little trouble finding work immediately, but those who arrived after 2008 struggled to find work as Spanish unemployment rates skyrocketed. Immigrants' individual characteristics had a limited effect on their employment trajectories. Although many immigrants who arrived in Spain between 2000 and 2007 were able to find work and eventually move out of the low-skilled positions, the nature of their jobs meant that they were not protected from the recession, and many became unemployed as the economy shed low- and middle-skilled jobs in sectors dominated by immigrants. In the long term, Spain will likely need immigrants to cover labor shortages because of its aging population and the emigration of native-born workers to other countries. The findings suggest that for many workers, finding middle-skilled work alone isn't enough, and integration policies could aim to help workers transition from the secondary to the primary labor market in order to find their way into more stable employment. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, Great Recession, Spain |
| JEL: | J15 J24 J61 J62 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izapps:pp93&r=mig |
| By: | Sweetman, A.; van Ours, J.C. (Tilburg University, Center For Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Intergenerational immigrant integration is central to the economic growth and social development of many countries whose populations comprise a substantial share of the children and grandchildren of immigrants. In addition to basic demographics, relevant economic theories and institutional features are surveyed to assist in understanding these phenomena. Building on this foundation, educational and labor market success across the immigrant generations are reviewed, and then studies on the evolution of social outcomes across those same generations are discussed. Overall, substantial cross-national heterogeneity in outcomes is observed as various sources of immigration interact with distinct national labor markets and educational/social contexts that have diverse approaches to integrating immigrants. |
| Keywords: | Second-generation immigration; 1.5-generation immigration; educational attainment; labor market position; intergenerational assimilation; economic integration |
| JEL: | J15 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiucen:cc9b5625-5c92-41b6-a1a4-f294de8f2088&r=mig |
| By: | Markaki, Yvonni |
| Abstract: | This article draws from different theoretical and empirical literatures to analyse the role of socioeconomic and regulatory conditions on immigrant-native gaps across four outcomes; unemployment, monthly earnings, underemployment, and precarious contracts. The empirical results suggest that immigrant-native gaps are larger in countries with more immigrants. Evidence also indicates that a stricter regulation of regular contracts increases the immigrant-native earnings gap and immigrants’ chances of holding temporary contracts. A stricter regulation of temporary contracts increases immigrants’ risk of unemployment and underemployment. A higher union density appears to suppress wage differences across some immigrant groups, rather than in comparison to natives. |
| Date: | 2014–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2014-41&r=mig |
| By: | Duleep, Harriet (College of William and Mary); Liu, Xingfei (IZA); Regets, Mark (National Science Foundation) |
| Abstract: | Using microdata from the 1960-2000 decennial censuses, this paper explores how large initial differences in immigrant earnings by country of origin change with duration in the United States. One analysis reveals that country of origin adds less to the explanation of earnings, among working-age adult male immigrants, the longer they reside in the United States. Another discovers that the earnings dispersion of demographically comparable immigrants across countries of origin diminishes with time in the United States. Both indicate convergence in immigrant earnings by country of origin. To probe the sensitivity of these results to immigrant emigration, we pursue a theoretical analysis, which gauges how hypothetical patterns of selective emigration affect the convergence results, and an empirical analysis, which could be more broadly applied as a test for emigration bias. Both suggest that immigrant earnings convergence by country of origin is not an artifact of emigration. The convergence has methodological ramifications for the measurement of immigrant economic assimilation – in studies that follow cohorts and in studies that follow individuals with longitudinal data – and more generally for the study of any process in which unmeasured variables jointly affect initial conditions and subsequent growth. |
| Keywords: | immigrant economic assimilation, human capital investment, country of origin, immigrant earnings convergence |
| JEL: | J1 J2 J3 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8628&r=mig |
| By: | Warman, Casey; Worswick, Christopher |
| Abstract: | The earnings and occupational task requirements of immigrants to Canada are analyzed. The growing education levels of immigrants in the 1990s have not led to a large improvement in earnings as one might expect if growing computerization was leading to a rising return to non-routine cognitive skills and a greater wage return to university education. Controlling for education, we find a pronounced cross-arrival cohort decline in earnings that coincided with cross cohort declines in cognitive task requirements and cross cohort increases in manual task requirements. The immigrant earnings outcomes had only a small effect on overall Canadian earnings inequality. |
| Keywords: | Occupational mobility; Earnings; Language Proficiency; Skills; Human Capital; Immigration |
| JEL: | J15 J24 J31 J61 J62 J71 |
| Date: | 2014–11–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2014-51&r=mig |
| By: | Hardy, Daniel; Rodriguez-Pose, Andres |
| Abstract: | British regions are becoming increasingly culturally diverse, with migration as the main driver. Does this diversity benefit local economies? This research examines the impact of cultural diversity on the entrepreneurial performance of UK regions. We focus on two largely overlooked factors, the measurement of diversity, and the skills composition of diverse populations. First, more that demonstrating the importance of cultural diversity for entrepreneurship, we show that the type of cultural diversity measured is a decisive factor. Second, the skill composition of diverse populations is also key. Diversity amongst the ranks of the highly skilled exerts the strongest impact upon start-up intensities. The empirical investigation employs spatial regression techniques and carriers out several robustness checks, including instrumental variables specifications, to corroborate our findings. |
| Keywords: | cultural diversity; entrepreneurship; high-skilled migration; knowledge spillovers |
| JEL: | F22 J24 L26 M13 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10241&r=mig |
| By: | Jürgen Bitzer (Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg); Erkan Gören (Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg and Aarhus University); Sanne Hiller (Ruhr-University Bochum and Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role of immigrant employees for a firm’s capability to absorb international knowledge. Using matched employer-employee data from Denmark for the years 1999 to 2009, we are able to show that non-Danish employees contribute significantly to a firm’s economic output through their ability to access international knowledge. The immigrants’ impact increases if they come from technological advanced countries, have a high educational level, and are employed in high skilled positions. However, the latter does not hold for immigrant managers. |
| Keywords: | R&D Spillovers, Absorptive Capacity, Firm-Level Analysis, Foreign Workers, Immigrants |
| JEL: | D20 J82 L20 O30 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:323&r=mig |
| By: | Wickramasekara, Piyasiri |
| Keywords: | labour migration, international migration, physician, nurse, health service, quality of care, economic implication, EU countries, OECD countries, UK, USA, migrations de main-d'oeuvre, migration internationale, médecin, infirmière, service de santé, qualité des soins, conséquences économiques, pays de l'UE, pays de l'OCDE, Royaume-Uni, Etats-Unis, migraciones laborales, migración internacional, médico, enfermera, servicio de salud, calidad de la atención, consecuencias económicas, países de la UE, países de la OCDE, Reino Unido, Estados Unidos |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:485561&r=mig |
| By: | Koettl, Johannes (World Bank); Kupets, Olga (National University of Kiev-Mohyla Academy); Olefir, Anna (World Bank); Santos, Indhira (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Ukraine's economy lacks dynamism, and this is both the cause and the effect of people not moving across the regions. The rate at which Ukrainians move from one region to another within the country is only half of what would be expected in comparison with other countries. This paper examines the barriers that prevent workers from moving within Ukraine, using information from focus group discussions and expert surveys. It also offers recommendations for creating greater labor mobility in Ukraine through addressing institutional bottlenecks and defines five key areas for improvement, including the population registry system, housing and credit markets, vocational education and training systems, labor market institutions, and the social welfare system. |
| Keywords: | barriers to migration, housing market, internal labor mobility, transition economies |
| JEL: | J61 J68 P25 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8631&r=mig |
| By: | Shoshana Neuman (Bar-Ilan University) |
| Abstract: | Till the early-1990s the collectively-bargained labor contract (between the trade-union that presented the employees, and the employer or the employers'-association) was the norm, granting salaried workers a stable and protected labor contract. Thereafter, and more significantly after 1995, the share of unionized workers dropped constantly, to almost half of its peak level (of more than 80 percent). In parallel, two other types of contracts became more common: personal temporary contracts (between an individual worker and his employer), and contracts between a labor-contractor and employees who are employed in a triangular mode of employment (employee-contractor-client). The latter involves precarious employment and is more common among the more vulnerable sub-populations of new-immigrants, disabled individuals, Israeli-Arabs, foreign-workers and women. The contractual changes resulted in work instability, growth of the secondary labor market and segmentation. Efforts to protect the disadvantaged secondary labor-market workers include legislation, reforms, new regulations, and enforcement of all the above. |
| Keywords: | Israel; labor market segmentation; labor contracts; collective bargaining; contracted labor; immigrants; foreign workers; regulation |
| JEL: | J15 J21 J31 J41 J51 J58 J61 J81 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:biu:wpaper:2014-12&r=mig |
| By: | Miguelez Ernest |
| Abstract: | This paper documents the influence of diaspora networks of high-skilled individuals ? i.e., inventors ? on international technological collaborations. By means of gravity models, it studies the determinants of the internationalization of inventive activity between a group of industrialized countries and a sample of developing and emerging economies. The paper examines in detail the influence exerted by skilled diasporas in fostering cross-country co-inventorship as well as R&D offshoring. The study finds a strong and robust relationship between inventor diaspora and different forms of international co-patenting. However, the effect is decreasing with the level of formality of the interactions. Interestingly, some of the most successful diasporas lately documented ? namely, Chinese and Indian ones ? do not govern the results. Migrant networks may smooth the obstacles to the internationalization of inventive activity. They create trust across national boundaries, provide information on market opportunities and, in general, reduce transaction costs of economic interactions between countries. Diaspora networks have been studied in the context of trade (Gould, 1994), FDI (Javorcik et al., 2011; Kugler and Rapoport, 2007), and international diffusion of ideas (Agrawal et al., 2011; Kerr, 2008). In parallel, numerous papers have investigated the internationalization of R&D activities (Guellec and van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, 2001; Patel and Vega, 1999; Picci, 2010). To the best of my knowledge, however, no study has looked at the role of high-skilled diasporas in fostering international technological collaborations. To anticipate the results to come, I find a robust and sizeable effect of high-skilled diasporas on the internationalization of inventive activity between developed, receiving countries and developing, sending economies. The effect is statistically and economically significant: a 10-percent increase in the inventor diaspora abroad is associated with a 1.5 to 2.2 percent increase in international patent collaborations. The evidence found survives the inclusion of a large number of controls, fixed-effects (FE), robustness checks, and identification issues. Moreover, the effect is stronger for inventor-to-inventor collaborations ? co-inventorship ? than for applicant-to-inventor co-patents ? R&D offshoring, suggesting that diaspora effects mediate particularly interpersonal relations between co-workers. |
| JEL: | C8 J61 O31 O33 R0 |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa14p1030&r=mig |
| By: | Koopmans, Ruud; Schaeffer, Merlin |
| Abstract: | The question whether ethnic diversity is associated with declining social cohesion has produced much controversy. We maintain that more attention must be paid to cognitive mechanisms to move the debate ahead. Using survey data from 938 localities in Germany, France, and the Netherlands, we explore a crucial individual-level mechanism: perceptions of diversity. We not only consider perceptions of the amount, but also of the qualitative nature of diversity. By asking about various qualitative aspects of diversity, we test the cognitive salience of three explanations that have been proposed in the literature for negative diversity effects: out-group biases, asymmetric preferences and coordination problems. We show that all three mechanisms matter. Perceptions both mediate statistical diversity effects, and have important explanatory power of their own. Moreover, we are able to address the question to what extend the relationship of perceived diversity and neighborhood social cohesion varies across policy contexts. Based on assumptions in the literature about positive impacts of inclusive and culturally pluralist immigrant integration policy approaches, we hypothesize that ethno-cultural diversity is less negatively related to neighborhood social cohesion in more inclusive policy contexts. Our results provide partial support for this hypothesis as perceived diversity has a significantly stronger negative impact on neighborhood cohesion in Germany. |
| Keywords: | Social Cohesion,Social Capital,Ethnic Diversity,Immigration,Intergroup Relations,Community Erosion |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbmit:spvi2014103&r=mig |