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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Kreickemeier, Udo; Wrona, Jens |
| Abstract: | We develop a model to explain two-way migration of high-skilled individuals between countries that are similar in their economic characteristics. High-skilled migration results from the combination of workers whose abilities are private knowledge, and a production technology that gives incentives to firms for hiring workers of similar ability. In the presence of migration cost, high-skilled workers self-select into the group of migrants. The laissez-faire equilibrium features too much migration, explained by a negative migration externality. We also show that for sufficiently low levels of migration cost the optimal level of migration, while smaller than in the laissez-faire equilibrium, is strictly positive. Finally, we extend our model into different directions to capture stylized facts in the data and show that our baseline results also hold in these more complex modelling environments. |
| Keywords: | International Migration,Skilled Workers,Positive Assortative Matching |
| JEL: | D82 F22 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuddps:0215&r=mig |
| By: | Fackler, Daniel; Rippe, Lisa |
| Abstract: | Using German survey data, we investigate the relationship between involuntary job loss and regional mobility. Our results show that job loss has a strong positive effect on the propensity to relocate. We also analyze whether the high and persistent earnings losses of displaced workers can in part be explained by limited regional mobility. Our findings do not support this conjecture as we find substantial long lasting earnings losses for both movers and stayers. In the short run, movers even face slightly higher losses, but the differences between the two groups of displaced workers are never statistically significant. This challenges whether migration is a beneficial strategy in case of involuntary job loss. |
| Keywords: | job displacement,plant closure,regional mobility,earnings,SOEP |
| JEL: | J61 J63 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:262016&r=mig |
| By: | Boutin, Delphine (CERDI, University of Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | Does experiencing internal migration hasten the access to the labour market? This paper provides an answer by studying the gap in transition length to a first job between young people in Uganda that have ever migrated inside the country and never-migrants of the same age category. To take into the account the specific context of Uganda (some enters at a very young age, other before the end of school and other have never attended school), different starting points of transition are considered: from the date of birth, from the minimum legal age (14 years old) and from the date of school exit. Extended proportional hazards models shows that transition duration is shorter for migrants than for non-migrants (except for the school-to-work transition), although effects vary considerably according to the area of origin and destination and the reasons for migration. Decomposition in durations' gap reveals the importance of unobservable factors, especially the role of area of origin, gender, age cohort and access to education. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, school-to-work transition, job search, youth employment |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J64 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10119&r=mig |
| By: | Stöhr, Tobias; Wichardt, Philipp C. |
| Abstract: | Cosmopolitan or anxious? In order to test the influence of conflicting aspects of identity, German respondents were asked about their attitude towards a Syrian refugee the description of whom was varied in various domains (N=662). Once the refugee is described as being aware of as well as open towards concerns in the German population - regarding cultural change, arising costs and increasing violence - reported levels of sympathy and trust increase substantially, especially for risk averse people. Additional data from a second questionnaire (N=118) show that a German person expressing such concerns is perceived as less cosmopolitan and more likely to vote for the emergent populist right-wing. Combining these findings, we argue that acknowledging concerns of the host population relieves the tension between the anxious and cosmopolitan part of peoples' identities and, therefore, allows them to respond more openly since an aspect of identity that is acknowledged by context (expressing anxieties) has less influence on actual behavior (expressing sympathy). Apart from that, we find that personal experience and the higher willingness to take risks are important for the individual willingness to interact. Our findings highlight the importance of context, identity and individual characteristics for host populations' attitudes towards of refugees. |
| Keywords: | Identity,Immigration,Integration,Migration,Refugees |
| JEL: | F22 Z10 Z12 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:2045&r=mig |
| By: | Dustmann, Christian (University College London); Schönberg, Uta (University College London); Stuhler, Jan (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | By exploiting a commuting policy that led to a sharp and unexpected inflow of Czech workers to areas along the German-Czech border, we examine the impact of an exogenous immigration-induced labor supply shock on local wages and employment of natives. On average, the supply shock leads to a moderate decline in local native wages and a sharp decline in local native employment. These average effects mask considerable heterogeneity across groups: while younger natives experience larger wage effects, employment responses are particularly pronounced for older natives. This pattern is inconsistent with standard models of immigration but can be accounted for by a model that allows for a larger labor supply elasticity or a higher degree of wage rigidity for older than for young workers. We further show that the employment response is almost entirely driven by diminished inflows of natives into work rather than outflows into other areas or non-employment, suggesting that "outsiders" shield "insiders" from the increased competition. |
| Keywords: | immigration, wage effects, labor supply elasticity, internal migration |
| JEL: | J21 J22 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10114&r=mig |
| By: | Okoampah, Sarah |
| Abstract: | Following the seminal work of Chiswick (1978), many studies have examined the extent to which earnings of immigrants vary over the settlement process. While these studies usually find that the initial earnings gap between native and immigrant workers in traditional immigration countries disappears as the duration of residence in the host country increases, empirical evidence mostly suggests that immigrants to Germany experience persistent earnings disadvantages and, if at all, only a moderate earnings assimilation process for some immigrant groups. However, due to variations in the economic performance of different immigration cohorts, estimates derived from crosssectional models may be biased (Borjas, 1985). Against this background, this paper employs a double cohort model to revisit the existing evidence on earnings assimilation processes of immigrants to Germany. In line with this literature, no evidence for a robust assimilation process for immigrants is found, even after accounting for potential cohort effects. |
| Abstract: | Der richtungsweisenden Studie von Chiswick (1978) folgend haben zahlreiche Studien das Ausmaß untersucht, mit welchem die Löhne von Einwanderern während des Ansiedlungsprozesses variieren. Während diese Studien für traditionelle Einwanderungsländer typischerweise feststellen, dass der anfängliche Lohnnachteil von Einwanderern gegenüber Einheimischen mit zunehmender Aufenthaltsdauer im Gastland verschwindet, deutet die Evidenz für Deutschland hauptsächlich auf persistente Lohnnachteile für Einwanderer hin und impliziert, wenn überhaupt, nur einen moderaten Einkommensassimilationsprozess für einige Einwanderergruppen. Aufgrund von Unterschieden im ökonomischen Erfolg verschiedener Einwanderungskohorten könnten Ergebnisse, die auf Querschnittsmodellen beruhen, jedoch verzerrt sein (Borjas, 1985). Vor diesem Hintergrund schätzt die vorliegende Studie ein Doppelkohortenmodell zur Überprüfung der bestehenden Evidenz zu Einkommensassimilationsprozessen von Einwanderern nach Deutschland. Die Literatur bestätigend, kann auch nach Kontrolle für potentielle Kohorteneffekte kein robuster Einkommensassimilationsprozess nachgewiesen werden. |
| Keywords: | earnings assimilation,cohort effects,international migration |
| JEL: | F22 F15 J31 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:630&r=mig |
| By: | Jessie Bakens (OIS, Municipality of Amsterdam, the Netherlands); Raymond Florax (Purdue University, United States; VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands); Peter Mulder (VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands) |
| Abstract: | Ethnicity has become an increasingly important factor in neighborhood formation in many developed economies. We specify a gravity model for neighborhoods to assess the role of ethnicity in intra-urban residential relocations. Migration patterns of different ethnic groups are hypothesized to depend on bilateral socioeconomic, demographic and ethnic differences between origin and destination neighborhoods. We account for heterogeneous and interdependent location preferences of natives and several immigrant groups. In addition, we incorporate friction measures of ethnic population shares and a diversity indicator to allow for nonlinear and asymmetric effects of the population composition on ethnic sorting and spatial clustering. We utilize a unique micro data set of place-to-place migrants across neighborhoods in the urban agglomerations of Amsterdam and The Hague, in The Netherlands. Our results provide evidence of ethnic drift leading to clustering of ethnic minority groups and "white flight" of native Dutch residents. Taken together, our findings suggest a preference for living among people of one's own ethnic group, but in a sufficiently diverse neighborhood. We discuss ways to extend and apply our gravity approach to further analyze intra-urban residential relocation flows. |
| Keywords: | neighborhood formation; ethnicity; diversity; immigrants; gravity model |
| JEL: | C21 F22 J15 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–08–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20160062&r=mig |