nep-mig New Economics Papers
on Economics of Human Migration
Issue of 2017‒09‒10
ten papers chosen by
Yuji Tamura
La Trobe University

  1. Labour market entry of non-Labour migrants – Swedish evidence By Åslund, Olof; Forslund, Anders; Liljeberg, Linus
  2. Tipping and the effects of segregation By Böhlmark, Anders; Willén, Alexander
  3. Influx of Immigrants in the North Eastern States of India: Exodus or Employment Evidence from Manipur By Loitongbam, Bishwanjit Singh
  4. Taking One for the Team: Shocks at Destination and Households' Supply of Migrants By Fajardo, Gustavo; Gutiérrez, Emilio; Larreguy, Horacio
  5. Study on rural migration and return migration in Kosovo By Möllers, Judith; Traikova, Diana; Herzfeld, Thomas; Bajrami, Egzon
  6. Endogenous technology, matching, and labor unions: Does low-skilled immigration affect the technological alignment of the host country? By Cords, Dario
  7. The Rise and Fall of U.S. Low-Skilled Immigration By Gordon Hanson; Chen Liu; Craig McIntosh
  8. Citizenship, Migration and Opportunity By Kanbur, Ravi
  9. Return Migrants and the Wage Premium: Does the Legal Status of Migrants Matter? By Jackline Wahba; Nelly El-Mallakh
  10. Taken by Storm: Hurricanes, Migrant Networks, and U.S. Immigration By Parag Mahajan; Dean Yang

  1. By: Åslund, Olof (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Forslund, Anders (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Liljeberg, Linus (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy)
    Abstract: We describe the short- and long-term patterns of labour market entry and integration among Non-Western, predominantly non-labour, immigrants to Sweden. Our main sample considers the 1990-2014 period. The patterns of time to first contact and labour market entry vary with business cycle conditions, country of origin and other background characteristics. But the main message is the remarkable stability of a relatively slow entry process and long-term outcomes below those of the average worker. The number of jobs before the “first real job” (entry) is limited and the first employer contact is for many a port to a more stable position. First jobs are comparatively often found in small, low-wage firms, which over time have become increasingly present in service industries. Our discussion of policy experiences suggests several margins and factors affecting the labour market outcomes of recent migrants, but also indicates that no single reform or measure is likely to in itself radically change the patterns.
    Keywords: immigration; Labour market entry; integration policy
    JEL: J61 J68
    Date: 2017–08–29
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2017_015&r=mig
  2. By: Böhlmark, Anders (Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University, IFAU, CReAM); Willén, Alexander (Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, USA)
    Abstract: We examine the effect of ethnic residential segregation on short- and long-term education and labor market outcomes of immigrants and natives. Our identification strategy builds on the one-sided tipping point model, which predicts that neighborhood native population growth drops discontinuously once the immigrant share exceeds a certain threshold. After having identified a statistically and economically significant discontinuity in native population growth at candidate tipping points in the three metropolitan areas of Sweden between 1990 and 2000, we show that these thresholds also are associated with a discontinuous jump in ethnic residential segregation. We exploit these thresholds to estimate the intent-to-treat effect of tipping. We find modest adverse education effects among both immigrants and natives. These effects do not carry over to the labor market.
    Keywords: residential segregation; education; labor market; regression discontinuity
    JEL: J15 J16 R23
    Date: 2017–08–21
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2017_014&r=mig
  3. By: Loitongbam, Bishwanjit Singh
    Abstract: As far as the pattern of migration movement in Manipur is concerned, the quantum of migration within other occupational categories is much greater than the quantum of migration within the professional categories. This paper examines why the immigrants do not move to industrialized and metropolitan cities but rather to North-East (NE) States of India. The paper suggests that, though it is a mixture of economy, social and political motives, the main reason for their stay in Manipur is politically motivated rather than looking for employment. Otherwise they will move to those industrialized and metropolitan cities as the opportunities in those cities are far bigger than in NES. In other words, the reason behind the unabated influx of immigrant population in NE states seems that the socio-political reasons far outweigh the economic reasons. The paper identifies three possible threats due to unabated influx of immigration to this region. The first and foremost threat is the possibility of turning North East States of India into a ‘Hindu Territory’ annihilating the peaceful coexistence of multi-cultural diversity. The second threat is the indigenes losing their lands and economy. The third and final threat is politicking migrant population. Local politicians or political parties used them as a tool to gain electoral to support for themselves or their political parties but ultimately they overshadowed the local leaders as is seen in Assam.
    Keywords: Immigrant, North Eastern States, Manipur
    JEL: J11 J15
    Date: 2016–11–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:80991&r=mig
  4. By: Fajardo, Gustavo; Gutiérrez, Emilio; Larreguy, Horacio
    Abstract: We study how unemployment shocks in the United States affect Mexican households’ migration decisions. We emphasize households at origin (as op-posed to individuals) as the decisionmaking units for migration decisions. We show that negative changes in US labor market conditions, which are diffused by household members at destination to those at origin, lead to heterogeneous migration responses by Mexican households that have members abroad. We argue that this heterogeneous response is driven by the relative magnitudes of income and substitution effects after a negative employment shock in the United States. While the income effect dominates the substitution effect for poor households, the opposite holds for richer households. These results also inform the literature on selection patterns in international migration, which suggests a new channel through which negative shocks in the host economy negatively affect the skill composition of subsequent migrants.
    Keywords: Economía, Investigación socioeconómica, Trabajo y protección social,
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dbl:dblwop:1082&r=mig
  5. By: Möllers, Judith; Traikova, Diana; Herzfeld, Thomas; Bajrami, Egzon
    Abstract: [Objectives] The overall objective of the study is to address the causes of migration and its consequences for rural areas of Kosovo. More specifically, we focus on the motives of migrants, the impact of migration on households left behind and the socio-economic situation of returning migrants. In the first part of this study, we will discuss the motivation behind migration. A specific focus is on drivers of the recent out-migration wave which started in 2014. We will furthermore shed some light on (positive and negative) migration impacts in the second part of the study: for some households, remittances received from migrated family members may alleviate poverty, while for others migration is linked to significant psychological burdens or lack of labour force in family businesses. In the third part, the study will focus on the consequences of return migration by identifying important attributes of the recently returned migrants and their specific needs and potentials for successful reintegration. We will look at the skill sets (education and experience) of the returnees, as well as their personal well-being and intentions to stay. Vulnerable groups such as women and ethnic minorities will be analysed separately. The study will provide recommendations on how the needs of returnees can be addressed and how they may contribute to a positive rural development in their communities. It will furthermore be used as a source of information for other ongoing projects dealing with return migration. The study was closely coordinated with a number of stakeholders in the Republic of Kosovo. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) provided funds for this project in the framework of its project "Competitiveness of the Private Sector in Rural Areas". The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) provided technical support. The study was carried out by the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO). Other programme partners include: municipalities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the Ministry of Diaspora (MD), the Ministry of Finance (MF), the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW), NGOs, farmers’ and forest owners’ associations, women’s groups and ethnic communities, the Kosovo Forestry Agency (KFA), and the Association of Municipalities in Kosovo (AMK).
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamodp:166&r=mig
  6. By: Cords, Dario
    Abstract: In recent years, Germany and other European countries face the strongest immigration flow in their history. Experts unanimously agree that one of the core factors of a successful social integration is the labor market participation of the new arrivals. This paper investigates the impact of low-skilled immigration on a unionized economy with labor market frictions. It especially examines how immigration affects the technology choice of firms and, thereby, the technological alignment of the host country. The labor market is characterized by heterogeneity on both sides of the market. Within this framework, it can be shown that low-skilled immigration encourages firms to invest more in a basic technology, which leads to a deterioration of the technology level in the whole economy. It can be further shown that policies, which improve the access of already existing low-skilled immigrants to the labor market counteract the effect that is triggered by an increase in low-skilled immigration.
    Keywords: Immigration,Technology Choice,Search and Matching,Labor Unions,Skillheterogeneity
    JEL: F22 J24 J31 J51 J61 J64
    Date: 2017
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohdps:202017&r=mig
  7. By: Gordon Hanson; Chen Liu; Craig McIntosh
    Abstract: From the 1970s to the early 2000s, the United States experienced an epochal wave of low-skilled immigration. Since the Great Recession, however, U.S. borders have become a far less active place when it comes to the net arrival of foreign workers. The number of undocumented immigrants has declined in absolute terms, while the overall population of low-skilled, foreign-born workers has remained stable. We examine how the scale and composition of low-skilled immigration in the United States have evolved over time, and how relative income growth and demographic shifts in the Western Hemisphere have contributed to the recent immigration slowdown. Because major source countries for U.S. immigration are now seeing and will continue to see weak growth of the labor supply relative to the United States, future immigration rates of young, low-skilled workers appear unlikely to rebound, whether or not U.S. immigration policies tighten further.
    JEL: J11 J15 J61
    Date: 2017–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23753&r=mig
  8. By: Kanbur, Ravi
    Abstract: The basic global distributional facts of inequality within and between countries are structuring a range of debates on policy issues which have analytical import. This paper raises three such questions: (1) Should Middle Income Countries like India continue to receive concessional development assistance from agencies like the World Bank? (2) Should the borders of richer countries be more open than they currently are to economic migration from poorer countries? (3) How does the equality of opportunity discourse within a country translate to equality of opportunity in a global perspective? But these questions appear not to have been as thoroughly investigated in the capability framework as their urgency and importance demands. They are worthy of deep and sustained investigation.
    Date: 2017–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12255&r=mig
  9. By: Jackline Wahba (University of Southampton); Nelly El-Mallakh
    Abstract: This paper examines the long-term impact of the legal status of overseas temporary migrants. Using unique data from Egypt, where we are able to distinguish between return migrants according to their type of international migration, documented versus undocumented migration, we examine the impact of temporary migration on their wages after return. Relying on a recursive mixed process model which takes into account the double selection into temporary migration and into the legal status of migrants, we examine the effect of illegal status on wages upon return. We find that undocumented migrants witness a wage penalty compared to documented migrants upon return. Our results also suggest that there is no wage penalty nor a wage premium for undocumented migrants compared to stayers. We also find suggestive evidence that undocumented migrants had lower-ranked occupations overseas and had lower earnings and lower savings overseas. Our results are the first to show the long term negative impact of undocumented migration on the migrant even after returning to their country of origin.
    Date: 2017–08–24
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1133&r=mig
  10. By: Parag Mahajan; Dean Yang
    Abstract: How readily do potential migrants respond to increased returns to migration? Even if origin areas become less attractive vis-à-vis migration destinations, fixed costs can prevent increased migration. We examine migration responses to hurricanes, which reduce the attractiveness of origin locations. Restricted-access U.S. Census data allows precise migration measures and analysis of more migrant-origin countries. Hurricanes increase U.S. immigration, with the effect increasing in the size of prior migrant stocks. Large migrant networks reduce fixed costs by facilitating legal immigration from hurricane-affected source countries. Hurricane-induced immigration can be fully accounted for by new legal permanent residents (“green card” holders).
    JEL: F22 O15 Q54
    Date: 2017–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23756&r=mig

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