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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Roberto Basile (Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics. University of L'Aquila); Francesca Licari (Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT)) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we assess the effect of community networks on the location choice of foreign immigrants in Italy. Our results confirm the existence of strong network externalities, but they also suggest that these effects spill over the borders of local labor markets areas (LLMAs). Significant positive spatial spillovers are indeed evident up to the second-order of contiguity, while a negative (spatial competition) effect emerges at the third-order. A possible channel for the generation of these spatial spillovers is the existence of common markets for unskilled and ethnic-specific jobs. |
| Keywords: | Community networks, Immigration, Gravity models, Spatial dependence |
| JEL: | F22 J61 R23 C14 C21 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahy:wpaper:wp2&r=all |
| By: | Riccardo Turati (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)) |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically investigates the impact of network-based connectedness on the diffusion of cultural traits. Using Gallup World Poll data on 148 countries on individual connectedness, opinions and beliefs, we find that natives who have a connection abroad are associated with higher levels of social behavior, religiosity and gender-egalitarian attitudes. Due to the endogenous nature of the variables, we strongly mitigate the threat of selection into connectedness by showing robust estimates even after controlling for broad measure of connectedness and performing propensity score and covariate matching techniques. Statistical tests are carefully implemented to quantify the selection threat of unobserved factors, which appears negligible. Our evidence shows that connectedness leads to cultural convergence across regions, while increases cultural heterogeneity within regions. Exploring the mechanisms by which these effects occur, we provide evidence that the effects are precisely estimated among less educated natives and that connectedness affects economic outcomes through remittances. We estimate differential cultural effects based on the connection’s country of residence, suggesting a destination-specific transfer of norms. Overall, the effects on social behavior are sizeable at the global level, once simulations based on estimated coefficients are performed. Although robust and certainly not negligible, gender-egalitarian and pro-religiosity effects of connectedness are limited. |
| Keywords: | Cultural change, connectedness, international migration, gender-egalitarian views, religiosity, social behavior |
| JEL: | F22 O15 Z10 |
| Date: | 2020–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2020012&r=all |
| By: | Joseph Price; Christian vom Lehn; Riley Wilson |
| Abstract: | Using recent innovations in linking historical U.S. Census data, we study the economic impacts of immigration on natives, including their geographic migration response. We find that the arrival of foreign immigrants significantly increases both native out-migration and in-migration. Accounting for this selective geographic migration, we find smaller economic impacts of immigration for native workers than previous work, including no positive impact on worker incomes. We present evidence of significant “losers” from increased immigration, namely workers who appear to be displaced by immigrant labor and move out of their local labor market, whereas the workers who remain see significant benefits. We also find that younger and lowerskilled workers are “losers” from increased immigration, whereas older and higher-skilled workers are “winners.” |
| JEL: | J21 J31 J61 J62 N32 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27156&r=all |
| By: | Biavaschi, Costanza (Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)); Facchini, Giovanni (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | What is the role played by immigrant groups in shaping migration policy in the destination country? We address this question exploiting cross-state variation in U.S. citizens' access to the franchise, due to the presence of residency requirements. First we document that naturalized immigrants were more geographically mobile than natives. Second, congressmen representing districts with large numbers of naturalized U.S. citizens were more likely to support an open migration policy, but this effect is reversed once we account for residency requirements. Our results indicate that electoral accountability of U.S. congressmen to naturalized immigrants was a key factor in explaining this outcome. |
| Keywords: | immigration policy, political economy |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13195&r=all |
| By: | Michel Beine (CREA, Université du Luxembourg); Luisito Bertinelli (CREA, Université du Luxembourg); rana Comertpay (CREA, Université du Luxembourg); Anastasia Litina (University of Ioannina, Greece); Jean-François Maystadt (Unversity of Antwerpen, Belgium); Benteng Zou (CREA, Université du Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | Our research report employs the D4R data and combines it to several other sources to study one of the multiple aspects of integration of refugees, namely the mobility of refugees across provinces in Turkey. In particular, we employ a standard gravity model to empirically estimate a series of determinants of refugee movements. These include the standard determinants such as province characteristics, distances across provinces, levels of income, network effects as well as some refugee-specific determinants such as the presence of refugee camps and the intensity of phone call interaction among refugees. Importantly, we explore the effect of certain categories of news events, notably protests, violence and asylum grants. Considering news as an indicator of policy implemented at the provincial level we gain a better understanding as to how policy can facilitate refugee mobility and thus enhance integration. To benchmark our findings, we estimate the same model for the mobility of individuals with a non-refugee status. |
| Keywords: | Social Integration, Refugee Mobility, Gravity Model of Migration, Poisson |
| JEL: | J6 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luc:wpaper:19-01&r=all |
| By: | Ratzmann, Nora |
| Abstract: | The paper describes intra-EU migrants’ experiences with (transnational) social security in Germany, showcasing their sense-making of the claims-making process to basic subsistence benefits in local job centres. The analysis of 48 qualitative interviews with intra- EU migrants and key informants illustrates how they are not merely passive recipients but may actively assert their rights, based on their degree of familiarity with German welfare bureaucracy, their pre-existing welfare expectations, and their available cultural and social capital. Whether EU migrant citizens decide to claim relates to their cost-benefit analyses on the accessibility to benefits and to alternative means of support, as well as their perceived social legitimacy to draw on German public social support. As a general trend, EU citizens first tried to exhaust all other means of generating an income, seeking to remain financially independent from state-provided welfare, before seeking to claim social assistance-type benefits as a last resort. The data also shows how some applicants are less able than others to pay the hidden costs imposed onto them during the claiming process. The paper finally highlights how, in the light of the inequalities of access they face, intra-EU migrants have developed a variety of strategies to satisfy their social protection needs, relying on a mix of formal and informal welfare arrangements. |
| Keywords: | policy implementation; EU migration; social security administration; activist citizenship; welfare magnet hypothesis |
| JEL: | D78 R23 H55 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:104678&r=all |
| By: | Björn NILSSON |
| Abstract: | Connections between migration and education are numerous, both at the macro and micro level. Recognizing this implies that educational policy as well as migration policy may generate spill-over effects, either in countries implementing the policies or in countries whose citizens may be concerned by them (or both). In an era of increased global connectedness, there is thus scope for the successful implementation of coordinated policies in the areas of migration and education. To tailor policies that work, however, a solid basis of evidence needs to be constituted, and theoretical predictions need to survive empirical examination from multiple contexts. This article provides an overview of the most important findings in the economics literature regarding the role of education in the migration-development nexus, emphasizing theoretical and empirical findings of interest for policymakers. The article will draw from multiple sources in the literature, including papers presented in the annual AFD/World Bank ’Migration & Development" conference. It intends to highlight the main findings regarding the role of education in the emigration decision, and in particular the issue of endogenous selection of migrants, but also the impact that migration has on the education of migrants and of non-migrants in both origin and destination countries. It will furthermore provide some stylized facts on the evolution of migrants’ skill composition around the world. Finally, the paper will provide a discussion on the challenges source and host countries face in implementing policies to tailor migration flows. |
| JEL: | Q |
| Date: | 2019–01–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:avg:wpaper:en9288&r=all |
| By: | Sveta MILUSHEVA |
| Abstract: | Populations are highly mobile, both in terms of long term movements of individuals relocating their place of residence as well as shorter term mobility such as commuting, seasonal travel and recreational trips. Working with call detail record data from Namibia and Senegal, we study population migration and its link to short term movement. We compare the short term mobility estimates extracted from call detail records to census data in the two countries and find a strong annual relationship, as well as distinct daily patterns in the relationship between long and short term movement. The relationship is strongest for holidays, and we find it to be consistent both across countries as well as across multiple years. In particular, we observe periods of increased travel on migration routes around holidays, with net short term travel in the opposite direction of the direction of migration before the holiday and net travel in the same direction after. Using the Namibia data set, which spans several years, we investigate the link between short term mobility and long term relocation on an individual level, allowing us to gain insights into the mechanisms of interaction of short and long term mobility. We find that it is common for individuals to both visit the place they will migrate to prior to migration and also visit their place of origin after migrating. Additionally, distance between the origin and destination of a migration has a significant influence on the probability of a short term trip associated with a long term move.The Senegal dataset provides information on the full network of users, which we use to study the relationship between the location of network contacts and probability of traveling to those locations, investigating the importance of social contacts for mobility. We find that while the majority of social contacts in different regions can be explained by long term migration patterns between regions, which in turn are linked to short term movement patterns, social contacts can explain some of the additional short term movement not captured by the long term migration. We also find non-linear relationships between the probability of visiting a region and the number and strength of contacts, as well as between the duration of a visit and social contacts. These results can help inform evidence-based policies that target some of the negative externalities of short term population movement such as spread of infectious disease, increased congestion, and inadequate infrastructure. |
| Keywords: | Sénégal |
| JEL: | Q |
| Date: | 2018–06–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:avg:wpaper:en8646&r=all |
| By: | Obi, Chinedu |
| Abstract: | International migration is undergoing unprecedented changes. The traditional determinants of migration such as poverty, food insecurity and climate change are giving way to new motivations. These new issues, that include but are not limited to ambitions to live a foreign lifestyle, incomplete and asymmetric information are capable of underestimating the risk in irregular migration. As the information about foreign lifestyle flow freely and new opportunities open, it becomes very difficult to manage irregular migration through border control. Within the transitional mode of international migration, the use of awareness campaigns, especially in rural areas of home countries that target the most vulnerable groups, – school-age youths, could become a veritable means of deterring irregular migration. In 2018, Ricosmigration – Rural Information Campaign on Safe Migration - received funding from the German Foreign Office to investigate why young people from Nigeria migrate irregularly and implement a safe migration awareness campaign for youth in rural secondary schools. This report is from the result of the project which cut across interviews of Nigerian migrants living in Italy, potential migrants in Nigeria, and the result of the awareness campaigns conducted in 10 secondary schools in Edo, Nigeria. In the report, we explain the profile of a potential migrant from Nigeria. We also explore how reduced capabilities to lead the desired life and how the increasing use of social media internet has greatly raised the likelihood of migration in Nigeria. We equally show in the detail how we implemented a randomized experiment to test the efficiency of the migration awareness campaign. The project provides a new dimension to the discourse of the root cause of migration by introducing the role of limited opportunities and freedom (capabilities), low life satisfaction, and incomplete information through social media. Additionally, it shows the power of light interventions such as awareness campaigns in reducing irregular migration. In particular, the result showed that about 77.2 per cent of Nigerian youths that responded to the interview have the intention to migrate abroad, and 37.2 per cent would migrate if they win a cash lottery that is enough to cover the migration cost. Our randomized experiment showed that migration awareness campaign could reduce the risk of being a victim of human trafficking by more than 50 per cent. It could also reduce the desire to engage in irregular migration by more than 30 per cent and increased the decision to take necessary steps to avoid human traffickers and follow proper procedures for safe migration by more than 50 per cent. The awareness campaign had a wide coverage reaching about 7000 students in rural communities in Edo State, Nigeria. The success factors of our awareness campaign include the utilization of appropriate channels, delivery of an accurate message that was tailored to the group we spoke to, and the use of respected external facilitators. |
| Date: | 2020–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:v3kn2&r=all |
| By: | HASHIMOTO Yuki |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the characteristics of Brazilian immigrants who have remained in Japan after the financial crisis and those who returned to their home country in order to understand skill and occupational selectivity. Our analysis reveals that it is likely that people who were under 30 or highly educated left Japan, in addition to those who lacked Japanese proficiency. Those who had stayed in Japan for less than 5 years, and those who were single, went back to Brazil earlier. This is consistent with the findings in the return migration literature in other countries. In addition, the analysis of data from the re-employment support service for returnees shows that highly-skilled workers returned home relatively late, that non-skilled immigrants tended to receive financial aid from the Japanese government, and that early return to Brazil and receipt of the financial aid was correlated with dissatisfaction with the job they received in Japan, which are new findings in this study. |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rpdpjp:20013&r=all |
| By: | Nguyet Thi Khanh, Cao (School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University) |
| Abstract: | With the use of data from a survey conducted by the Japan Student Services Organization, I applied binary outcome models to investigate the determinants of international students' decisions to remain in Japan to work after they graduate or finish their studies. The empirical results showed that having a strong motivation to live in Japan before moving to Japan to study had a significant impact on the decision to remain and to work in Japan indefinitely. It was also observed that the longer a student stayed in Japan, the more likely he or she was to remain there to work permanently. Moreover, the GDP per capita gap and unemployment rate gap between the home countries and Japan were found to be significant push factors. The results of the present analyses suggest that to more efficiently attract international students to Japan, policy-makers should carefully consider international students' motivation to come to and stay in Japan and work to ensure that international students enjoy their lives in Japan while studying. |
| Keywords: | international student, student mobility, foreign labor, immigration |
| JEL: | F22 F66 J24 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kgu:wpaper:212&r=all |