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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Weichselbaumer, Doris (University of Linz) |
| Abstract: | Germany is currently experiencing a high influx of Muslim migrants. From a policy perspective, integration of migrants into the labor market is crucial. Hence, a field experiment was conducted that examined the employment chances of females with backgrounds of migration from Muslim countries, and especially of those wearing headscarves. It focused on Turkish migrants, who have constituted a large demographic group in Germany since the 1970s. In the field experiment presented here, job applications for three fictitious female characters with identical qualifications were sent out in response to job advertisements: one applicant had a German name, one a Turkish name, and one had a Turkish name and was wearing a headscarf in the photograph included in the application material. Germany was the ideal location for the experiment as job seekers typically attach their picture to their résumé. High levels of discrimination were found particularly against the migrant wearing a headscarf. |
| Keywords: | discrimination, Muslim religion, headscarf, hiring, experiment |
| JEL: | C93 J15 J71 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10217&r=mig |
| By: | John K. Dagsvik; Tom Kornstad; Terje Skjerpen (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | A phenomenon observed in many labor markets is that the supply of labor appears to depend on business cycles. In other words, workers who are searching for work become “discouraged” under unfavorable business cycle conditions because they believe that their chances of finding an acceptable job are so small that the costs of searching for work outweigh the benefits from searching. In this paper we present a new theoretical framework for job searching based on aggregate rational expectations, which is then used to analyze separately the discouraged worker effect for married/cohabiting immigrant women from non-Western countries and women born in Norway. The empirical results show that the search cost per unit of time is much higher for women born in Norway than for immigrant women. This means that an immigrant woman facing the same probability of obtaining work as a woman born in Norway is less likely to be discouraged from looking for work than a woman born in Norway. However, the actual expected search cost is higher for immigrant women than for women born in Norway. The reason for this is that the probability of obtaining an acceptable job is essentially lower for immigrant women compared to women born in Norway. Consequently, the fraction of discouraged workers is, for some groups, much higher for immigrant women than for women born in Norway, despite the fact that the search costs per unit of time for immigrant women are much lower than those for women born in Norway. |
| Keywords: | Discouraged workers; Aggregate rational expectations; Female immigrants; Labor force participation; Panel data; Random utility modelling |
| JEL: | C33 C35 J21 J22 J61 J64 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:845&r=mig |
| By: | Xu, Ying; Maitland, Carleen F. |
| Abstract: | In this study, we examine how refugees in the Middle East stay connected through various communication services. Our findings are based on survey data collected in Za'atari Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. First, we find that social media such as WhatsApp and Facebook are used more frequently compared to mobile voice, SMS, Skype and email. Second, the demographic variables of sex and education level were found to be significant predictors in the choice of communication services in Jordan but have no significant effect in explaining past choices in Syria. In Jordan, men are more likely to use mobile voice, Viber and email, and people with higher education tend to use Viber. These findings provide quantitative evidence of the usage behaviors of refugees, providing valuable information for service providers as well as a basis for future research. |
| Keywords: | Internet,Mobile Phone,Refugee Camp,Forced Migration,Information Need,Communication Behavior,Survey Study,Confirmatory Factor Analysis |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itsr15:146337&r=mig |
| By: | Francesco Fasani (Queen Mary University of London) |
| Abstract: | Do general amnesty programs lead to reductions in the crime rate among immigrants? We answer this question by exploiting both cross-sectional and time variation in the number of immigrants legalized generated by the enactment of repeated amnesty programs between 1990 and 2005 in Italy. We address the potential endogeneity of the "legalization treatment" by instrumenting the actual number of legalized immigrants with alternative predicted measures based on past amnesty applications patterns and residential choices of documented and undocumented immigrants. We find that, in the year following an amnesty, regions in which a higher share of immigrants obtained legal status experienced a greater decline in non-EU immigrant crime rates, relative to other regions. The effect is statistically significant but relatively small and not persistent. In further results, we fail to find any evidence of substitution in the criminal market from other population groups - namely, EU immigrants and Italian citizens - and we observe small and not persistent reduction in total offenses. |
| Keywords: | illegal migration, legalization, migration policy |
| JEL: | F22 J61 K37 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1621&r=mig |
| By: | Liou, Wayne (University of Hawaii at Manoa); Halliday, Timothy J. (University of Hawaii at Manoa) |
| Abstract: | In 2007, the State of Arizona passed the Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) which required all employers to verify the legal status of all prospective employees. Replicating existing results from the literature, we show that LAWA displaced about 40,000 Mexican-born people from Arizona. About 25% of these displaced persons relocated to New Mexico indicating that LAWA had externalities on adjoining states. This finding underscores a pitfall of having decentralized immigration policy in a federal system. |
| Keywords: | migration |
| JEL: | J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10215&r=mig |
| By: | Ruxanda Berlinschi; Ani Harutyunyan |
| Abstract: | This research analyzes differences in values and beliefs between individuals in European and postSoviet states who intend to emigrate and those who do not. In particular, we investigate which political, economic and social values and beliefs are significant determinants of the intention to emigrate, after controlling for relevant socio-economic and demographic confounding factors. The results indicate that self-selection patterns exist in some dimensions, such as evaluation of home country governance and institutions, political participation and trust in other people, while they are absent in other dimensions, such as economic liberalism, views on democracy and free markets. Results also indicate that migrant self-selection patterns are heterogeneous across regions. This analysis aims to improve our understanding of the determinants of emigration, as well as of its possible consequences on the dynamics of governance and institutions. |
| Keywords: | Migration determinants, Culture, Transition economies |
| JEL: | P30 F22 F63 F68 Z10 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:38116&r=mig |
| By: | Ruxanda Berlinschi |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of work experience abroad on political opinions using survey data from Moldova, a former soviet republic caught in an ideological battle between Russia and the West, with high emigration rates to both destinations. Contrarily to studies conducted in Africa or Latin America, we find no effect of past migration on democratic participation or on critical governance assessment. Likewise, no effect is found on domestic policy preferences. The one dimension strongly associated with migration experience is geopolitical preference, whereby return migrants from former Soviet countries are more likely to support closer ties with Russia, while return migrants from Western countries show higher support for EU integration, controlling for economic, demographic and ethnic confounding factors. For identification, we instrument individual migration with district level migrant networks. IV regressions show that only work experience in Western countries affects geopolitical preferences. |
| Keywords: | return migration, political opinions, Moldova, survey data. |
| JEL: | P3 J61 D72 D83 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:38316&r=mig |
| By: | Ivlevs, Artjoms (University of the West of England, Bristol) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effects of remittances on informal employment in the migrants' countries of origin, looking both at the remittance-receiving and non-migrant households. Using data from the Social Exclusion Survey, conducted in six transition economies in 2009, I find that receiving remittances increases the likelihood of working informally. At the regional level, high prevalence of remittances is associated with a higher likelihood of informal work among non-migrant households. Migration and remittances may thus be contributing to informal employment in migration-sending countries. |
| Keywords: | remittances, migration, informal work, non-migrant households, transition economies, two stage residual inclusion |
| JEL: | F24 J46 J61 R23 O17 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10196&r=mig |
| By: | Bertoli, Simone (CERDI, University of Auvergne); Ruyssen, Ilse (Ghent University) |
| Abstract: | Social networks are known to influence migration decisions, but connections between individuals can hardly be observed. We rely on individual-level surveys conducted by Gallup in 147 countries that provide information on migration intentions and on the existence of distance-one connections for all respondents in each of the potential countries of intended destination. The origin-specific distribution of distance-one connections from Gallup closely mirrors the actual distribution of migrant stocks across countries, and bilateral migration intentions appear to be significantly correlated with actual flows. This unique data source allows estimating origin-specific conditional logit models that shed light on the value of having a friend in a given country on the attractiveness of that destination. The validity of the distributional assumptions that underpin the estimation is tested, and concerns about the threats to identification posed by unobservables are substantially mitigated. |
| Keywords: | international migration, networks, intentions |
| JEL: | F22 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10213&r=mig |
| By: | Phan, Diep (Beloit College); Coxhead, Ian (University of Wisconsin) |
| Abstract: | We examine remittance behavior of rural-urban migrants in Vietnam using a unique data set that links the 2012 round of the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (VHLSS) with a 2013 tracer study of migrants from VHLSS households. We estimate factors associated with remittances, taking migrant selection issues into account. We also estimate impacts of net remittances on per capita income in migrant-sending rural households, taking into account the endogeneity of remittances. We find that migration and remittances increase the incomes of rural households. However, the estimated direct income effects are small, and become smaller still as migrants become more established in their new place of residence. Members of ethnic minority groups gain far less than others from migration and remittances. More data and research are needed to broaden these assessments to include non-economic benefits and costs of migration. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:wisagr:581&r=mig |
| By: | Kincses, Áron |
| Abstract: | Foreign nationals have had a significantly positive influence on the regional socioeconomic developments of Hungary. Two realignments took place between the last two censuses: at first, the composition of citizenship changed; then, the local redistribution changed partly because of the different structure of citizenship. Fields of interests and research: Regional science, regional geography, regional and urban development, regional analysing methods, social- and economic geography network-analysis, applied mathematics and the application of physical science models in geography. |
| Keywords: | international migration, census, dual citizenship |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O15 R00 R10 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:73941&r=mig |
| By: | Falcke, Swantje; Meng, Christoph (ROA / Education and occupational career); Nollen, Romy |
| Abstract: | Educational mismatches, i.e. diferences between the education attained and required for a job have been found to negatively affect earnings and job satisfaction and thus lead to a lower return to education. In this paper we aim to see whether immigrants are more prone to educational mismatches and unemployment than their native counterparts. Using a cross-sectional data set among recent applied science graduates in the Netherlands between 2006 and 2014 we are able to look at a very homogeneous group where possible differences between immigrants and natives cannot be explained by differences in the quality of education or language capabilities. The results of our multinomial logit regressions suggest that an ethnic penalty in educational mismatches and unemployment exists for western as well as non-western immigrants, being more severe for non-western than western immigrants. Immigrants are less likely to be correctly matched than Dutch natives and more likely to be unemployed, where the likelihood of being unemployed is even higher for non-western immigrants. Furthermore non-western immigrants are more likely to experience a mismatch in content and level than Dutch natives. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, educational mismatch, unemployment, ethnic penalty |
| JEL: | J15 J24 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umagsb:2016028&r=mig |
| By: | Andreas Schaefer (ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Volker Grossmann (University of Fribourg, Switzerland); Thomas Steger (Leipzig University, Germany); Benjamin Fuchs (University of Hohenheim, Germany) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the dynamic effects of interregional labor market integration on migration flows, capital formation, and the price for housing services. The co-evolution of these variables depends on initial conditions at the time of labor market integration. In an initially capital-poor economy, there may be a reversal of migration flows during the transition to the steady state, while housing costs are increasing over time. Although capital may accumulate while labor emigrates early in the transition, the causal effect of immigration on capital investments and housing costs is positive. We present new data on the evolution of net migration flows and rental rates for housing in East Germany after 1990. Our results are consistent with the presented evidence in the reverse migration scenario. |
| Keywords: | Capital formation, German reunification, Housing services, Labor market integration, Reverse migration |
| JEL: | D90 F20 O10 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:16-259&r=mig |
| By: | Stepantsov, Pavel (Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA)) |
| Abstract: | This work addresses causes and factors of social mobility in contemporary Russia. As one of key determinants of social mobility the role of spatial migration is stressed. Further its impact on social capital, increasing welfare and life chances of Russian population is analised. Basing on the results obtained groups of potential mobility are figured out. |
| Keywords: | mobility, social capital, migration, life chances |
| Date: | 2016–05–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rnp:wpaper:3057&r=mig |