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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | de Brauw, Alan; Kramer, Berber; Murphy, Mike |
| Abstract: | As a substantial portion of the rural labor force migrates to urban areas, it is commonly assumed that women could take over traditionally male tasks in agricultural production, with potentially empowering outcomes for women. We study how changes in the supply of labor may influence female labor participation and empowerment outcomes. Using a detailed panel dataset on jute producers in Bangladesh, we test whether out-migration of household members and perceived labor shortages are associated with the share of household and hired labor performed by women, and women’s empowerment. When a household experiences reduced household or hired labor supply, we observe a relatively larger use of female household labor but not of female hired labor. We find that reduced male household labor supply is associated with improved wages mainly for male laborers, whereas reduced female household labor is associated with improved wages for male laborers and enhanced empowerment of other women in the household. These findings suggest that given existing gender norms, male and female labor are not perfect substitutes for one another, and as a result, male outmigration is not associated with improved outcomes for women in cash crop production. Our results demonstrate a need for better understanding of the role of gender in rural labor markets, particularly in contexts of rapid urbanization. |
| Keywords: | BANGLADESH; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA; migration; rural areas; urban areas; empowerment; gender; women; women's empowerment; agriculture; value chains; labour; households; agricultural value chain; rural-urban migration |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1959&r=all |
| By: | Francesca Marchetta Author-Name: Sokcheng Sim |
| Abstract: | Growing rural-to-urban and international migration flows have sparked concerns about investments in the education of left-behind children in Cambodia. We drew on a panel household-level survey conducted in rural villages in 2014 and 2017 to analyze the relationship between parental migration and schooling of children. The analysis revealed that children of migrant parents lag significantly behind in terms of years of completed schooling. We used the longitudinal dimension of the data to estimate a placebo test, which greatly reduced concerns related to the possible confounding effect of unobserved heterogeneity. The negative effect that we uncovered appeared to be driven largely by reduced parental input in children’s education rather than by an increase in child labor. |
| Keywords: | Cambodia, parental migration, remittances, education, children’s schooling |
| JEL: | F22 R23 I25 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:pmmacr:2020-18&r=all |
| By: | Paras Kharel Author-Name: Kshitiz Dahal Author-Name: Jorge Davalos |
| Abstract: | We estimated the impact of remittances from international migration on the labor supply of left-behind household members to non-farm self-employment and on the performance of the non-farm enterprises they operated. We used data from a nationally representative household survey from Nepal that included an enterprise module. We accounted for both the truncated nature of observed hours worked and the endogeneity of remittances when assessing the impact on labor supply, and, in estimating the effects on firm performance, we addressed selection into operating a non-farm enterprise as well as the endogeneity of remittances. Remittances were found to encourage women to reduce their labor supply in non-farm self-employment, whereas there was no significant effect on men. We found evidence that the disincentive effect was strong enough to exert a negative influence on the revenues of non-farm enterprises operated by the left-behind labor force. |
| Keywords: | Remittances, Migration, Labour supply, Microenterprises, Entrepreneurship |
| JEL: | J22 F22 L20 O20 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:pmmacr:2020-06&r=all |
| By: | Yu, Yip-Ching (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University); Nimeh, Zina (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the extent to which first-generation immigrants in the Netherlands undergo segmented paths of welfare assimilation and its underlying mechanism. Using unique longitudinal panel administrative data (2007-2015) based on the entire Dutch population from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), we estimate the trajectories of immigrant welfare utilization over the working-age life course, which is employed as an indicator of economic marginalization, vis-à-vis those of two base groups from the native populations representing different economic segments of the host country, namely: average Dutch natives and Dutch natives with low education level. The results show that, while mainstream assimilation is the dominant trend, it is not a common path for all. The risk of persistent marginalization exists and concentrates among first-generation immigrants characterized by structural and human capital disadvantages, despite their aspiration to integrate and notable degrees of upward mobilities. The worst scenario projected is a lack of assimilation to neither segment, suggesting prospective emergence of an ethnic underclass at the bottom of the economic ladder. The main policy implications are twofold. First, automatic closing of the immigrant-native gap over time should not be presumed if a level playing field is not provided for all regardless of their type of immigration and ethnic background. Second, the need for distinction between immigration policy and refugee policy should not be obscured by the consolidation of immigrants as one homogenous group, as systematic discrepancy is being observed between refugees and other types of migrants in both the patterns and mechanisms of welfare assimilation. |
| Keywords: | welfare assimilation, segmented assimilation, first-generation immigrants, dynamic correlated random effects probit model |
| JEL: | H53 J6 I38 C23 J15 |
| Date: | 2020–08–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2020036&r=all |
| By: | Kapsalis, Constantine |
| Abstract: | In a recent report by the Fraser Institute, Grady and Grubel (2015) concluded that, because of the low taxes they pay and the government services they receive, the fiscal burden of recent immigrants to Canada was significant ($5,329 in 2010). This study, however, shows that the fiscal burden is only significant in the case of refugees and sponsored immigrants. By contrast, economic immigrants actually pay more in taxes than the benefits they receive. This is an important finding since economic immigrants are selected primarily on economic grounds, while refugees and sponsored immigrants are accepted primarily on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, fiscal burden |
| JEL: | J01 |
| Date: | 2020–08–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102505&r=all |
| By: | Petronella Képes (Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary,) |
| Abstract: | Migration from third world countries toward the European Union is one of the biggest challenges that the European Union has to face. It represents political, economic, and societal risks as well as new opportunities. Depending on the weights one attaches to the ups or the downs of migration, the overall effects of migration are dubious. There is also a problem even with the term migration because people use it in several meanings: one of the goals of this paper is to dispel the misunderstanding around the definition. A previous research focused on the probable effects on Germany's population of immigration coming from the third world simply as a function of the number of immigrants. The purpose of the current paper is to elaborate further this simple model by introducing education. Namely, if the willingness to have children also depends on education, how will Germany’s population react to immigration, how the distribution of subpopulations will change. The paper presents possible scenarios by using evolutionary game theoretical tools. |
| Keywords: | European Union, Germany, evolutionary game theory, migration, population |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:spaper:026pk&r=all |
| By: | Hillel Rapoport; Sulin Sardoschau; Arthur Silve |
| Abstract: | We examine both theoretically and empirically how migration affects cultural change in home and host countries. Our theoretical model integrates various compositional and cultural transmission mechanisms of migration-based cultural change for which it delivers distinctive testable predictions on the sign and direction of convergence. We then use the World Value Survey for the period 1981-2014 to build time-varying measures of cultural similarity for a large number of country pairs and exploit within country-pair variation over time. Our evidence is inconsistent with the view that immigrants are a threat to the host country’s culture. While migrants do act as vectors of cultural diffusion and bring about cultural convergence, this is mostly to disseminate cultural values and norms from host to home countries (i.e., cultural remittances). |
| Keywords: | Migration;Cultural Change;Globalization |
| JEL: | F22 O15 Z10 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepidt:2020-10&r=all |
| By: | Nieto Castro Adrian |
| Abstract: | This paper explores gender differences in the career paths of immigrant and native parents before and after childbirth using Spanish administrative data and an event study specification. I find an important gender pay gap emerging after childbirth for both immigrants and natives, but immigrants suffer from a higher loss in earnings than natives. I show important native-immigrant differences in potential drivers behind the gender pay gap. After childbirth, mothers reduce their labour participation and are more often unemployed, part-time and temporary employed than fathers. The gender gaps in labour participation and part-time work are higher for natives, while the gender gaps in unemployment and permanent employment for immigrants. Finally, I investigate whether the deterioration of mothers' career originates from workers' or employers' decisions. After childbirth, mothers quit their job less, but temporarily stop working and are dismissed more than fathers. The gender gap in temporary leaves is higher for natives, while the gender gap in dismissals for immigrants. |
| Keywords: | immigrant; native; gender gap; inequality; children |
| JEL: | J13 J15 J16 J31 J61 J70 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2020-07&r=all |
| By: | Constant, Amelie F. (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University, GLO, and Princeton University); Milewski, Nadja (University of Rostock, GLO) |
| Abstract: | The Healthy Immigrant Paradox found in the literature by comparing the health of immigrants to that of natives in the host country, may suffer from serious cultural biases. Our study evades such biases by utilizing a destination-origin framework, in which we compare the health of emigrants to that of their compatriots who stay in the country of origin. Isolating cultural effects can best gauge self-selection and host country effects on the health of emigrants with longer time abroad. We study both the physical and mental dimensions of health among European-born emigrants over 50, who originate from seven European countries and now live elsewhere in Europe. We use the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and apply multi-level modeling. Regarding the physical health we find positive self-selection, beneficial adaptation effects, and effects from other observables for some but not all countries. With the notable exception of the German émigrés, we cannot confirm selection in mental health, while additional years abroad have only weak effects. Overall, living abroad has some favorable effects on the health of older emigrants. The economic similarity of countries and the free intra-European mobility mitigate the need for initial self-selection in health and facilitate the migration experience abroad. |
| Keywords: | panel data, physical health, mental health, older population, emigrants, multi-level models, Europe |
| JEL: | C23 F22 J11 J14 J15 J61 I12 I14 O15 O52 |
| Date: | 2020–08–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:unumer:2020037&r=all |
| By: | Marco Alfano (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde); Ross McKenzie (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde); Graeme Roy (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effect of immigration into an occupation on the wages of natives working in other, better paid occupations. Using Annual Population Survey data from the UK we rank occupations by real hourly wage and _find that increasesin the migrant/native ratio raise average wages of natives working in the next higher paid occupation by around 0.13 percent. We find that these effects operate through migrants' higher educational attainments raising workplace productivity more broadly and supporting specialization in tasks. Our findings have important implications for policy and public discourse. They suggest that debates over the economic impacts of migration often ignore the potential spill-over benefits that a migrant can bring to the outcomes for native workers elsewhere in the wage distribution, particularly in lower wage occupations. |
| Keywords: | immigration, impact, wage distribution |
| JEL: | J21 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:str:wpaper:2011&r=all |
| By: | Britta Glennon |
| Abstract: | Skilled immigration restrictions may have secondary consequences that have been largely overlooked in the immigration debate: multinational firms faced with visa constraints have an offshoring option, namely, hiring the labor they need at their foreign affiliates. If multinationals use this option, then restrictive migration policies are unlikely to have the desired effects of increasing employment of natives, but rather have the effect of offshoring jobs. Combining visa data and comprehensive data on US multinational firm activity, I find that restrictions on H-1B immigration caused foreign affiliate employment increases at the intensive and extensive margins, particularly in Canada, India, and China. |
| JEL: | F16 F22 F23 J61 O3 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27538&r=all |
| By: | Stefan Schiman |
| Abstract: | Labor supply shocks can have substantial effects on the Beveridge Curve. Structural VARs with sign restrictions show that the shocks associated with the free movement of workers from Eastern Europe have temporarily increased unemployment in Austria, a major destination country, by 25 percent and job vacancies by 40 percent. The 2 percent increase in total employment was accompanied by a temporary decline in the employment of domestic workers. The greatest impact is seen in regions bordering on the home countries of the migrant workers. Beyond these findings the paper addresses empirical regularities of labor supply shocks that are at odds with theoretical predictions. |
| Keywords: | labour supply shocks, Beveridge curve, job-related migration, sign restrictions, structural VAR KP_Berichte_Analysen |
| Date: | 2020–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2020:i:606&r=all |
| By: | Blackaby, David H. (Swansea University); Drinkwater, Stephen (University of Roehampton); Robinson, Catherine (University of Kent) |
| Abstract: | There were large regional differentials in the Brexit vote. Most notably, the percentage voting to leave the EU ranged from 38% in Scotland and 40% in London to 59% in the East and West Midlands. Turnout also varied across Britain, from a low of 67% in Scotland to 77% in the South East and South West. Existing empirical studies have tended to focus on the demographic composition of geographical areas to identify the key socio-economic characteristics in explaining spatial and other variations in the leave vote - with age and education found to be important drivers. We use the British Social Attitudes Survey to provide a more nuanced picture of regional differences in the Brexit vote by examining in particular the role that national identity and attitudes towards immigration played. In addition to education, we find that national identity exerted a strong influence on the probability voting leave in several English regions, including the East, North East, London and South East. Whereas, over and above this, concerns about immigration had a quantitatively large and highly significant impact in all regions bar London, and the East to a lesser extent. Differences by country of birth are also explored, with national identity and concerns about immigration having a larger impact for the English-born. Our findings are then discussed in the light of changes that have affected regional economies during the process of increased globalisation, austerity, the current Covid-19 crisis and recent UK government announcements to rebalance the economy. |
| Keywords: | Brexit, regional economies, globalisation, immigration |
| JEL: | D72 R11 F60 J61 |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13579&r=all |
| By: | Deole, Sumit S.; Huang, Yue |
| Abstract: | Despite being a regular suspect, a causal role of residents’ emotions in predicting their opposition to international immigration has not been investigated. Using the individual-level panel data from Germany, we study the impact of the individual’s experience of negative emotions (sadness, fear, and anger) on immigration concerns and bridge this gap in the literature. After controlling for person fixed effects and a battery of individual-level and macroeconomic controls, we find that negative emotions are statistically and significantly associated with the respondent’s immigration concerns. The association holds for male as well as female respondents. To estimate the causal effects of negative emotions, we exploit the exogenous variation in negative emotions induced by the death of a parent or the change in averages of daily temperature and employ IV fixed effects regressions. Our findings suggest that, while within-person changes in the respondent’s feelings of anger affect immigration concerns among all respondents, the feelings of sadness and fear affect immigration concerns only among females. The impact of sadness and fear is more forceful among females who are not always-working during the sample period, older in age, and rarely use online social media. |
| Keywords: | Emotions,negative emotions,immigration concerns,public policy |
| JEL: | D91 F22 J18 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:644&r=all |
| By: | Chnoor Maki (Independent researcher, Sweden,) |
| Abstract: | This research is based on a case study regarding Iranian refugees in Sweden and it strives to find out how Iranian refugees have experienced racism in Sweden; if they have been exposed to racism or not? The aim of this study is to give voice to marginalized people so we might discover the hidden aspects of racism that might not be obvious for any researcher. The data for this article is based on semi-structured interviews that have been conducted with Iranian refugees in Sweden in 2017. Most of the participants in this study were Iranian refugees who have been in Sweden for less than 5 years, at the time of this research. In this paper, drawing on 13 semi-structured interviews, I show that in Sweden, racism emerges in two important levels; individual level and structural level. Furthermore, I show that racism is not limited to a specific group; different ethnicities and nationalities are prejudiced against each other. In addition, the discourse of “them†and “us†exist amongst refugees and immigrants. This distinction has been built upon supposed “cultural superiority†of Swedes which brings about a distinction between immigrants and Swedes in this case. |
| Keywords: | Iranian refugees, individual racism, structural racism, cultural superiority |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:spaper:038cm&r=all |
| By: | Philipp Ager; James J. Feigenbaum; Casper Worm Hansen; Hui Ren Tan |
| Abstract: | Fears of immigrants as a threat to public health have a long and sordid history. At the turn of the 20th century, when millions of immigrants crowded into dense American cities, contemporaries blamed the high urban mortality penalty on the newest arrivals. Nativist sentiments eventually led to the implementation of restrictive quota acts in the 1920s, substantially curtailing immigration. We capture the "missing immigrants" induced by the quotas to estimate the effect of immigration on mortality. We find that cities with more missing immigrants experienced sharp declines in deaths from infectious diseases from the mid-1920s until the late 1930s. The blame for these negative mortality effects lies not with the immigrants, but on the living conditions they endured. We show that mortality declines were largest in cities where immigrants resided in the most crowded and squalid conditions and where public health resources were stretched the thinnest. Though immigrants did die from infectious diseases at higher rates than the US-born, the mortality decline we find is primarily driven by crowding not changes in population composition or contagion, as we show mortality improvements for both US- and foreign-born populations in more quota-affected cities. |
| JEL: | I14 J15 N32 N92 |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27480&r=all |