nep-mig 2016-01-18 papers

on Economics of Human Migration

Issue of 2016‒01‒18
two papers chosen by
Yuji Tamura
La Trobe University

Ethnic Diversity and Educational Attainment By Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa; Nuhu, Ahmed Salim
Remittances and expenditure patterns of the left behinds in rural China By Sylvie Démurger; Xiaoqian Wang

Ethnic Diversity and Educational Attainment

By:	Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa; Nuhu, Ahmed Salim
Abstract:	This study attempts to explain the effects of ethnic and linguistic diversity on educational attainment. We argue that cross-section differences in ethnic and linguistic fractionalization can explain a substantial part of the cross-country differences in educational attainment levels. Using a data on 86 countries, we uncover new evidence on the relationship between fractionalization and educational attainment. We find that fractionalization lower educational attainment. This finding is consistent across various measures of educational attainment, and is robust to several sensitivity checks. We explore several potential mechanisms which could explain the observed negative effects of ethnic and linguistic diversity including ethnic diversity’s effect on social capital, discrimination, public goods, conflicts, and institutional quality, among others.
Keywords:	ethnic diversity,fractionalization,educational attainment,schooling
JEL:	J15 O5 H52 I21
Date:	2015–12
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esconf:125567&r=mig

Remittances and expenditure patterns of the left behinds in rural China

By:	Sylvie Démurger (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69007, France ; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne,F-69130 Ecully, France); Xiaoqian Wang (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69007, France ; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne,F-69130 Ecully, France)
Abstract:	This paper investigates how private transfers from internal migration in China affect the expenditure behaviour of families left behind in rural areas. Using data from the Rural-Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) survey, we assess the impact of remittances sent to rural households on consumption-type and investment-type expenditures. We apply propensity score matching to account for the selection of households into receiving remittances, and estimate average treatment effects on the treated. We find that remittances supplement income in rural China and lead to increased consumption rather than increased investment. Moreover, we find evidence of a strong negative impact on education expenditures, which could be detrimental to sustaining investment in human capital in poor rural areas in China.
Keywords:	remittances, labour migration, expenditure behaviour, left-behind, propensity score matching, China
JEL:	O15 J22 R23 D13 O53
Date:	2016
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:1601&r=mig

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