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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Huttunen, Kristiina (Aalto University School of Economics); Møen, Jarle (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration); Salvanes, Kjell G. (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | It is well documented that displaced workers suffer severe earnings losses, but not why this is so. One reason may be that workers are unable or unwilling to move to regions with better employment opportunities. We study this and find that job displacement increases regional mobility but the mobility decisions are driven also by non-economic factors such as family ties. As a results, movers tend to be a heterogeneous group. We find that on average displaced workers who move suffer larger income losses than displaced workers who stay in the same region. However, the entire post displacement income difference between movers and stayers is driven by workers moving to regions where parents live or to rural areas. |
| Keywords: | Plant closures; downsizing; regional mobility; earnings; family ties. |
| JEL: | J12 J21 J61 J65 |
| Date: | 2016–04–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2016_017&r=mig |
| By: | Roberto Basile (Seconda Università di Napoli); Alessandro Girardi (ISTAT, Istituto Nazionale di Statistica); Marianna Mantuano (ISTAT, Istituto Nazionale di Statistica); Giuseppe Russo (Università di Salerno and CSEF) |
| Abstract: | The role of labour mobility on regional disparities is at the core of a heated debate: while standard competitive models posit that mobility works as an equilibrating device and reduces the unemployment, models featuring externalities lead to opposite conclusions. Against this backdrop, we present a simple two-region model adapted to the main features of the Italian North-South dualism that illustrates the effects of labour mobility with and without human capital externalities. We show that, when externalities are introduced, regional mobility may exacerbate regional unemployment disparities. Using longitudinal data over the years 2002- 2011 for 103 NUTS-3 Italian regions, we document that net outflows of human capital from the South to the North have increased the unemployment rate in the South and decreased the unemployment rate in the North. Our conclusions support the literature that finds an important role of regional externalities, and suggest that reducing human capital flight from Southern regions should be a priority. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment, Migration, Human capital, Externalities, Italian regions |
| JEL: | C23 R23 J61 |
| Date: | 2016–12–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:460&r=mig |
| By: | Suphanit Piyapromdee (University College London); Jean Marc Robin (Sciences Po); Rasmus Lentz (University of Wisconsin Madison) |
| Abstract: | ​Workers with similar observed characteristics may have different wage paths because their unobserved characteristics are rewarded differently or because they have different mobility patterns. For example, controlling for observed characteristics, a native worker may have a steeper wage profile than his counterpart immigrant because he has different unobserved characteristics or because he is more likely to be employed at a more productive firm (likewise for male versus female workers). Understanding the contributions of worker and firm heterogeneity to wage and mobility differentials can shed light on many key economic issues such as wage inequality, statistical discrimination and wage assimilation of immigrants. In this paper, we propose an estimation method that allows for unrestricted interactions between worker and firm unobserved characteristics in both wages and the moving probability. Related to Bonhomme, Lamadon and Manresa (2014) (BLM), our method identifies double sided unobserved heterogeneity through an application of the EM-algorithm. The analysis estimates both wage and mobility patterns using Danish matched employer-employee data and decomposes wage dispersion into mobility and wage variation across firms and workers. |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed016:1686&r=mig |
| By: | Doris Weichselbaumer |
| 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:jku:econwp:2016_09&r=mig |
| By: | Thu Hien Dao (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)); Frédéric Docquier (FNRS, UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES) and FERDI (France)); Chris Parsons (Business School, University of Western Australia); Giovanni Peri (Department of Economics, University of California, Davis, United States) |
| Abstract: | Emigration first increases before decreasing with economic development. This bell-shaped relationship between emigration and development was first hypothesized by the theory of the mobility transition (Zelinsky, 1971). Although several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the upward segment of the curve (the most common being the existence of financial constraints), they have not been examined in a systematic way. In this paper, we develop a novel migration accounting methodology and use it to quantify the main drivers of the mobility transition curve. Our analysis distinguishes between migration aspirations and realization rates of college-educated and less educated individuals at the bilateral level. Between one-third and one-half of the slope of the increasing segment is due to the changing skill composition of working-age populations, and another third is due to changing network size. The microeconomic channel (including financial incentives and constraints) only accounts for one fourth of the total effect in low-income countries, and for less than one fifth in lower-middle-income countries. Finally, our methodology sheds light on the microfoundations of migration decisions. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Development, Aspirations, Credit Constraints |
| JEL: | F22 O15 |
| Date: | 2016–12–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2016029&r=mig |
| By: | Frédéric Docquier (FNRS, UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES) and FERDI (France)); Riccardo Turati (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)); Jérôme Valette (CERDI, University of Auvergne (France)); Chrysovalantis Vasilakis (Bangor Business School (United Kingdom)) |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically revisits the impact of multiculturalism (as proxied by indices of birthplace diversity and polarization among immigrants, or by epidemiological terms) on the macroeconomic performance of US states over the 1960-2010 period. We test for skill-specific effects of multiculturalism, controlling for standard growth regressors and a variety of fixed effects, and accounting for the age of entry and legal status of immigrants. To identify causation, we compare various instrumentation strategies used in the existing literature. We provide converging and robust evidence of a positive and significant effect of diversity among college-educated immigrants on GDP per capita. Overall, a 10% increase in high-skilled diversity raises GDP per capita by 6.2%. On the contrary, diversity among less educated immigrants has insignificant effects. Also, we find no evidence of a quadratic effect or a contamination by economic conditions in poor countries. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Culture, Birthplace Diversity, Growth |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2016–12–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2016028&r=mig |
| By: | Marcén, Miriam; Molina, Jose Alberto; Morales, Marina |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether culture plays a role in the number of children born. To explore this issue, we use data on immigrant women who arrived in the United States under 6 years old. Since all these women are resident in the same country from their early lives, and grew up under the same laws, institutions, and economic conditions, then the differences between them by country of origin may be due to cultural differences, as the epidemiological approach suggests. Following that approach, we identify the cultural effect, exploiting variations in the mean number of children born by country of origin, using data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series International that allows us to measure more precisely the cultural proxy by age, education level, and employment status. Results show that the home-country mean number of children born has a positive and statistically significant relationship to the number of children born of immigrants living in the US, suggesting that culture is important. Our findings are robust to the introduction of several home country variables, and to the use of different subsamples. Our results are maintained when we control for unobservable characteristics by country of origin. Additionally, we extend this work to an analysis of both the decision to have children and the number of children born, finding again that culture appears to play a significant role. |
| Keywords: | Culture, Immigrants, Number of children born |
| JEL: | J13 Z13 |
| Date: | 2016–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75511&r=mig |
| By: | Sari Pekkala Kerr; William Kerr; Çaǧlar Özden; Christopher Parsons |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews recent research regarding high-skilled migration. We adopt a data-driven perspective, bringing together and describing several ongoing research streams that range from the construction of global migration databases, to the legal codification of national policies regarding high-skilled migration, to the analysis of patent data regarding cross-border inventor movements. A common theme throughout this research is the importance of agglomeration economies for explaining high-skilled migration. We highlight some key recent findings and outline major gaps that we hope will be tackled in the near future. |
| JEL: | F15 F22 J15 J31 J44 L14 L26 O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22926&r=mig |
| By: | Jose-Ignacio Anton (Johannes Kepler University Linz); René Böheim (Johannes Kepler University Linz); Rudolf Winter-Ebmer (Johannes Kepler University Linz) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effects of increased immigration of foreign workers on the unionisation rates of native workers in Austrian firms over the period 2002–2012. Our results suggest that lower union density of natives’ in firms with more foreign workers is driven not by natives leaving unions, but by the different composition of turnover depending on the share of foreigners in the firm. |
| Keywords: | migration, unions, turnover, hiring |
| JEL: | J51 J61 J63 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1630&r=mig |
| By: | Romiti, Agnese (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "Fertility and female labour force participation are no longer negatively correlated in developed countries. Recently, the role of immigration has been put forward as a driving factor among others. Increased immigration affects supply and prices of household services, which are relevant for fertility and employment decisions. This paper analyses the effect of immigration on labour supply and fertility of native women in the UK, with a focus on the role of immigration on household services. Adopting an instrumental variable approach based on the country-specific past distribution of immigrants at regional level, I find that immigration increases female labour supply, without affecting fertility. My results show that immigration increases the size of the childcare sector, and reduces its prices, suggesting that immigrants may ease the trade-off between working and child rearing among native women." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | D10 F22 J13 J22 J61 |
| Date: | 2016–12–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201640&r=mig |
| By: | Ted Mouw |
| Abstract: | Empirical estimates of the effect of immigration on native workers that rely on spatial comparisons have generally found small effects, but have been subject to the criticism that out-migration by native workers dampens the observed effect by spreading it over a larger area. In contrast, studies that rely on variation in immigration across industries, occupations, or education-based skill-levels often report large negative effects, but rely primarily on repeated cross-sectional data sets which also cannot account for the adjustment of native workers over time. In this paper, we use a newly available data set, the Longitudinal Employer Household Data (LEHD), which provides quarterly earnings records, geographic location, and firm and industry identifiers for 97% of all privately employed workers in 29 states. We use this data to analyze the impact of immigration on earnings changes and the mobility response of native workers. Overall, we find that although immigration has a negative effect on the earnings and employment of native workers, and positive effects on their firm, industry, and cross-state mobility, the overall size of the effects is small. |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:16-56&r=mig |
| By: | Wanphen Sreshthaputra (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) South and South-West Asia Office) |
| Abstract: | International migration is a key factor behind the socio-economic development of South and South-West Asia (SSWA), one of the fastest growing subregions in the world. International migration has alleviated population pressures and unemployment while remittances from overseas migrants have helped reduce poverty. In 2011, South and South-West Asian countries received an estimated $90 billion in workers’ remittances, more than five times the $15 billion in official development assistance received over the same period. This brief synthesizes some of the key recommendations of the Situation Report on International Migration in South and South-West Asia, published by the Asia-Pacific RCM Thematic Working Group on International Migration including Human Trafficking, which is co-chaired by ESCAP and IOM. It also draws on additional recommendations from the South and South-West Asia Development Report 2012/13 issued by ESCAP South and South-West Asia Office. |
| Keywords: | International Migration, South and South-West Asia, remittance |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eap:pbsswa:pb0002&r=mig |