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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Uchenna, Efobi; Joseph, Ajefu |
| Abstract: | This research examines the effect of internally displaced persons (IDPs) resettlement on the anthropometric outcomes of the host community's children in Nigeria. Our identification strategy characterizes affected children based on distance heterogeneities between the household and the closest IDP camp, as well as the child's birth year. We find that children residing within a 50-kilometer radius of the settlement with birth years after the IDP settlement in their community are less likely to be underweight, stunted, or wasted. Importantly, we contend that these findings arise because mothers benefited from changes in agricultural food prices, which led to increased agricultural productivity. Furthermore, the settlement resulted in a rise in donor-related activities in their community, namely immunization campaigns. In our data, we explore these mechanisms, demonstrating a significant likelihood of mothers participating in agricultural labor versus services or other professional employment and a significant increase in vaccination intake for affected children. |
| Keywords: | Anthropometric Measures, Child Wellbeing, Forced Migration, IDPs, Nigeria, Vulnerability |
| JEL: | F35 J13 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1381&r=mig |
| By: | Olivier Bargain (BSE - Bordeaux Sciences Economiques - UB - Université de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IUF - Institut Universitaire de France - M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche); Jordan Loper (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); Roberta Ziparo (AMU - Aix Marseille Université) |
| Abstract: | Migration is an important risk-coping mechanism for poor households in developing countries. However, migration decisions may be sub-optimal in the presence of limited commitment between spouses. In this paper, we examine the link between the distribution of power in marriage and the decision to split-migrate (one spouse migrates alone) in Indonesia. We exploit a national policy experiment that exogenously increased women's bargaining power among ethnic groups of matrilocal tradition - the couple lives with the bride's relatives - relative to patrilocal groups. The propensity of matrilocal husbands to split-migrate, relative to patrilocal husbands, increases by 2-3.4 percentage points, i.e. a rise of 41-76%, following the reform. We suggest that empowered women may have gained control ex ante over outcomes that are costlier to monitor for husbands once they migrate. Hence, empowerment restores some efficiency in migration decisions by reducing the anticipated information asymmetry and the moral hazard associated with migration. Consistently, we show that households with empowered women are more able to cushion shocks due to natural disasters and, among all households experiencing split-migration, matrilocal women are better off than their patrilocal counterparts. We provide a theoretical framework that rationalizes the intra-household mechanisms behind these intuitions. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Female empowerment, Intra-household decision-making, Ethnic norms, Gender, Natural experiment |
| Date: | 2024–01–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cdiwps:hal-04409953&r=mig |
| By: | H. Champeaux; E. Gautrain; K. Marazyan |
| Abstract: | Bride price customs are widespread in many developing countries. While the economic literature has widely investigated the implications of such transfers on women's welfare, little is known about their consequences on men's premarital behavior. In this paper, we exploit a quasi-natural experiment of a school-building program in Indonesia (INPRES) to investigate the relationship between marriage norms and the internal migrations of young men in age to marry. Based on empirical and theoretical settings of the literature, we rely on the effects of the INPRES program on girls' education and the parents' expectations on their daughters' bride price. Combining anthropological, administrative, and individual-based datasets, we implement a triple-difference approach. We find that men with bride price customs were more likely to migrate to areas more economically attractive than their district of origin. In contrast, no evidence exists of such behavior for men from ethnic groups without marriage payments. We interpret these results as evidence for the fact that men migrate to accumulate resources at destination to meet the parents' bride price expectations and marry at home. We also highlight that these migration strategies are implemented by the less advantaged males in their origin marriage market (latter-borns or from lower social class). These findings suggest that the interaction between marital norms and policies can result in unintended consequences, such as increasing premarital migration. |
| Keywords: | migration;marriage market;cultural norms;Indonesia;marriage payments |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202402&r=mig |
| By: | David Escamilla-Guerrero; Andrea Papadia; Ariell Zimran |
| Abstract: | The effects of immigration are reasonably well understood in developed countries, but they are far more poorly understood in developing ones despite the importance of these countries as immigrant destinations. We address this shortcoming by studying the effects of immigration to Brazil during the Age of Mass Migration on its agricultural sector in 1920. This context benefits from the widely recognized value of historical perspective in studies of the effects of immigration. But unlike studies that focus on the United States to understand the effects of migration from poor to rich countries, our context is informative of developing countries’ experience because Brazil in this period was unique among major migrant destinations as a low-income country with a large agricultural sector and weak institutions. Instrumenting for a municipality’s immigrant share using the interaction of aggregate immigrant inflows and the expansion of Brazil’s railway network, we find that a greater immigrant share in a municipality led to an increase in farm values. We show that the bulk of the effect of immigration can be explained by more intense cultivation of land, which we attribute to temporary immigrants exerting greater labor effort than natives. Finally, we find that it is unlikely that immigration’s effect on agriculture slowed Brazil’s structural transformation. |
| Date: | 2024–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:esohwp:_211&r=mig |
| By: | Zuchowski, David |
| Abstract: | Russia's attacks against Ukraine have triggered massive and unexpected migration movements. In this paper, I examine the impact of the inflow of Ukrainians that resulted from Russia's aggression in 2014 on local migration patterns in Poland. For identification, I use an instrumental variable approach drawing on unique historical data on the forced resettlement of Ukrainians in Poland after World War II. The results show that the regional inflow of immigrants decreases both internal and international out-migration of the Polish population. I provide supportive evidence that the decrease in out-migration is due to the upscaling of local labor markets. |
| Abstract: | Die Angriffe von Russland auf die Ukraine haben massive und unerwartete Migrationsbewegungen ausgelöst. In diesem Artikel untersuche ich die Auswirkungen des Zustroms ukrainischer Arbeitskräfte infolge der russischen Aggression im Jahr 2014 auf lokale Migrationsbewegungen in Polen. Zur Identifizierung der Effekte verwende ich einen Instrumentalvariablenansatz, der sich auf einzigartige historische Daten zur Zwangsumsiedlung ukrainischer Familien in Polen nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg stützt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die regionale Zuwanderung sowohl die interne als auch die internationale Abwanderung der polnischen Bevölkerung verringert. Ich finde Indizien dafür, dass dieser Rückgang der Abwanderung auf das Hochskalieren der lokalen Arbeitsmärkte zurückzuführen ist. |
| Keywords: | Migration, immigrant workers, Poland, Ukraine |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:281188&r=mig |
| By: | Becker, Malte (Kiel Institute for the World Economy); Krüger, Finja (Kiel Institute for the World Economy); Heidland, Tobias (Kiel Institute for the World Economy) |
| Abstract: | We explore whether attitudes toward immigration and their determinants known from well-studied high-income countries also hold in so far understudied low-income settings where the economic, societal, and geopolitical circumstances differ markedly. Using a causal framework based on experimental and survey data in Uganda and Senegal, we extend the literature by introducing a new concept - power concerns - to test whether perceptions of foreign influence in business and politics affect attitudes toward immigrants. Furthermore, we provide evidence of the perceptions of Chinese immigrants in Africa, whose increasing presence is highly controversial and politicized. |
| Keywords: | attitudes toward immigration, China in Africa, migration, experiment, conjoint |
| JEL: | F22 O15 O55 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16734&r=mig |
| By: | Bellaumay, Rémy |
| Abstract: | When people dream of emigration, do they want to go to a rich country or for a happy one? While on an international scale, the two often go hand in hand, the Gallup World Poll, which asks questions about emigration aspirations, shows that the two elements come into play separately: countries with greater average life satisfaction exert an attraction beyond their wealth and historical proximity to countries of origin. Plans to emigrate in the next year, more concrete than aspirations or hopes, follow a similar pattern with only some modifications due to regulatory and geographical constraints. The persistence of life satisfaction of destination countries as a predictor indicates the force of attraction of the possibility of a better life. Where people actually go may be different from the place that they hoped to go – attesting to the power of immigration barriers. Once arrived in the host country, immigrants' life satisfaction tends to be lower than that of the native-born – however, the ranking of countries is the same whether we consider the criterion of their satisfaction or that of the native-born. |
| Keywords: | Wellbeing, Migration |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpm:notobe:2316b&r=mig |
| By: | Zaitsev Ilya (Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University); Klachkova Olga (Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University) |
| Abstract: | The study uses gravity models to estimate the impact of the spread of information and communication technologies (ICT) on migration flows between Russian regions. Based on data on migration by education for 2015–2019, the trend that the spread of the Internet in the regions of destination leads to an increase in the flow of migrants with higher education has been revealed. On the other hand, for migrants with a low level of education, migration decreases if the Internet becomes more accessible in the regions of destination. Thus, for migrants with higher education, the channels of information and communication mostly prevail, and for the rest a channel of better living conditions is more common. |
| Keywords: | interregional migration, gravity models, regions of Russia, information and communication technologies, education |
| JEL: | L86 R23 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upa:wpaper:0065&r=mig |
| By: | Daniel Tuki (Research Fellow, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Berlin, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This study examined the effect of gender on migration aspirations in the states of Kaduna and Edo, which are in Nigeria’s Northern and Southern Regions respectively. The regression results showed that, in Kaduna, the effect of gender on migration aspirations was moderated by marital status: being female and married lowered migration aspirations. When I shifted the focus of the analysis to the concrete plans made to emigrate to another country, I found that being female lowered the probability of making international emigration plans. The effect was direct. These results may be explained by the patriarchal nature of society in Kaduna and the salience of gender norms: women are expected to be homemakers, and this attenuates their migration aspirations. In Edo, females did not differ from males in terms of migration aspirations; however, being female in a wealthy household reduced the probability of making international emigration plans. This suggests that households allocate more resources toward men’s emigration plans than those of women. Being female and married increased the probability of making international emigration plans. The emigration plans of married women might be associational—i.e., tied to their husbands’ emigration plans or driven by the desire to reunite with their husbands who have already emigrated. |
| Keywords: | Gender, norms, Migration aspirations, Emigration plan, Kaduna, Edo, Nigeria |
| JEL: | F22 J16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:408&r=mig |
| By: | Navarro, Adoracion M. |
| Abstract: | Making a comprehensive comparison of subnational levels of infrastructure development in the Philippines is difficult due to the uneven availability of data on infrastructure indicators across geo-political areas. This study shows this is possible at the regional level by developing a demonstration composite subnational infrastructure development index. The study constructed a regional infrastructure development index by picking indicators based on representativeness in the infrastructure subsectors and the uniform availability of data across regions. It also presents one useful application of the index: analyzing the link between subnational infrastructure development and internal migration through a Poisson regression. It then uses the Balik Probinsya Bagong Pag-asa Program, a program engineering the return migration of low-income Filipino families from cities to provinces, to illustrate the usefulness of the regression results in conducting an evidence-based policy analysis. The relationships established through econometric regression and the trends in inter-regional migration show that migration is a phenomenon. Filipino migrants vote with their feet based on demographic and economic factors, including the level of infrastructure development in their origin and destination. Engineering the return to destinations that Filipino migrants left in the first place does not guarantee that they will stay there, given the determinant demographic and economic factors. The resources spent on such engineering can be used instead for programs that minimize spatial development inequities, such as by improving infrastructure to attract investments and jobs. Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph. |
| Keywords: | infrastructure;regional development;internal migration;return migration;Balik Probinsya Bagong Pag-Asa;Poisson regression |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2023-20&r=mig |
| By: | Federico Carril-Caccia (University of Granada); Ana Cuadros (Universitat Jaume I and Institute of International Economics); Jordi Paniagua (University of Valencia, Kellogg Institute, University of Notre Dame) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effect of increasing the share of female migrants on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). We develop a model that introduces gendered labor and discrimination into a structural model of FDI. Our estimates reveal that the increasing feminization of the immigrant labor force is positively associated with FDI. Furthermore, the model drives the quantification of the elasticity of substitution (EoS) between male and female labor for 27 OECD countries (1.3 on average) and three job types: managers (3.2), professionals (2.1), and non-qualified workers (6.0). The EoS is lower in countries with small gender gaps (e.g., 0.3 in Sweden) than in countries with large gender gaps (e.g., 6.1 in Mexico). Our analysis offers novel perspectives on the impacts of migration and the potential implications of policies targeted at enhancing female workforce participation. |
| Keywords: | FDI, migration, elasticity of substitution, gender, discrimination |
| JEL: | F21 F22 F23 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:2402&r=mig |
| By: | Joan Martín-Montaner (Universitat Jaume I and Instituto de Economía Internacional); Francisco Requena (Universitat de València); Guadalupe Serrano (Universitat de València) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the determinants of the internal and foreign migrants’ decision regarding their employment status and examine the importance of second-language proficiency in bilingual language economies. When arriving at a bilingual territory, migrants must decide which languages to learn. If one of the languages predominates in economic activity, there are less incentives for migrants to make the effort of learning the second language. However, if a local language contributes to build or strengthen a regional identity, learning it could help immigrants’ immersion in the receiving region. We use the Spanish Census in 2001, which exceptionally asked all participants about their knowledge of the co-official language in the bilingual regions. Our results show that second-language proficiency reduces the probability of being unemployed and stimulates self-employment. The impact becomes stronger among foreign migrants without Spanish as a first language and migrants arriving after primary school and living in non-urban areas. |
| Keywords: | Immigrant's assimilation, languages proficiency, labor market, self-employment, sequential logit |
| JEL: | J21 J22 J61 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:2404&r=mig |
| By: | Albert, Jose Ramon G.; Tabuga, Aubrey D.; Vizmanos, Jana Flor V.; Muñoz, Mika S.; Hernandez, Angelo C.; Habitan, Ma. Teresa |
| Abstract: | As the country witnesses a steady export of its human resources, it becomes imperative to explore not only the immediate impacts of labor migration on the Philippine economy but also its long-term consequences on both the overseas Filipino workers and the families they leave behind. This study examines the various effects of labor migration on OFWs and their families, including the economic benefits and social costs (e.g., family dynamics, child outcomes in terms of labor, health, education) of the diaspora, and what the government has done to assist these modern-day heroes. Remittances sent home by OFWs have become a major contributor to the Philippine economy, representing around 10 percent of gross domestic product. This provides income for families and supports consumer spending. However, labor migration has led to divided families and complex transnational relationships between OFWs and their families in the Philippines. While remittances support loved ones, being miles away from loved ones can cause psychic pains. Findings from interviews with OFWs and their families also suggest that young OFWs dream of retiring early but may not be provided systematic support for financial literacy. The paper calls for strengthening the reinforcement of legal frameworks, enhancing the labor market, improving social protection programs for OFWs and their families, equipping them with the necessary skills to achieve financial sustainability, and regularly monitoring OFW conditions for evidence-informed policymaking. Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from the date of posting. Email publications@pids.gov.ph. |
| Keywords: | labor migration;overseas Filipino workers;OFW;labor export;diaspora |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2023-17&r=mig |
| By: | Henrique (Department of Economics, Brown University) |
| Abstract: | With global forced displacement at an unprecedented level, there is an increasing demand for low-cost interventions that can reduce tension between displaced persons and host communities. This study undertakes a novel field experiment designed to improve the social integration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into host communities under conditions of scarce resources and low state capacity. The experiment was conducted in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s northernmost province, where an Islamist insurgency has resulted in over one million IDPs. Hosts and IDPs participated in joint community meetings in which they discussed topics related to the collective life of both groups, and IDPs also narrated their stories of escape from insurgents. Analysis of survey data, list experiments, the Implicit Association Test, and lab-in-the-field games shows that the community meetings produced immediate and sustained positive effects on the relationship between hosts and IDPs. Religious tolerance also improved, and religious-extremist beliefs decreased, highlighting the potential of intergroup contact to support counterinsurgency efforts. As a novel insight, this study finds that even brief but structured intergroup interactions can have a beneficial long-lasting impact on social cohesion. |
| JEL: | C93 D74 D83 D91 J15 O15 Z12 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:405&r=mig |
| By: | Kikkawa, Aiko (Asian Development Bank); Gaspar, Raymond (Asian Development Bank); Kim, Kijin (Asian Development Bank); Mariasingham, Mahinthan J. (Asian Development Bank); Zamora, Christian Marvin (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | The macroeconomic studies that assess the contribution of international remittances to the origin countries of migrants use a different definition of remittances than the microeconomic literature that examines the impact at the household and community levels. This study overcomes this difference in definition by integrating household expenditure data into the input-output analysis. Using the 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Surveys (FIES) of the Philippines, we find that remittance-financed household consumption and investment totaled ₱742.2 billion ($14.1 billion) and contributed 3.5% of the country’s total output, 3.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), and 3.7% of total employment in 2018. We note that the largest value added is accruing to the manufacturing sector as it accounts for more than a third of remittance recipients’ spending basket followed by the trade and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors, which are closely linked to the manufacturing industry. The international remittances income reported by households is less than half (43.8%) of the ₱1.7 trillion ($32.2 billion) aggregate international remittances reported by the central bank in the same year based on the balance of payments definition. |
| Keywords: | international remittance; household expenditure; micro–macro analysis; Philippines |
| JEL: | C67 D12 F24 |
| Date: | 2024–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0714&r=mig |
| By: | Calvillo Preciado, David Alejandro; Lara Lara, Jaime; Martínez Elizondo, Arnoldo; Pequeño Morán, Eliseo Samuel; Velarde Villasana, Victor Manuel |
| Abstract: | This paper examines explanatory factors for the drop in the net migratory flow between Mexico and the United States to zero in the period 2005-2015. To do this, we used a pseudo-maximum likelihood Poisson gravitational model, estimating the state-to-state migration from Mexico to the United States with data from EMIF-North. The change with the greatest quantitative impact on migratory flows was the increase in the presence of the border patrol and the deportation policies for long-stay migrants, which decreased emigration and increased return. The drop in economic activity during the 2008 crisis diminished the attractiveness of destination economies, but also increased incentives to migrate at source. Other factors such as migratory networks, distance and population increase are also significant in explaining the migratory flows between the states of the two countries. |
| Keywords: | migration, return migration, deportations |
| JEL: | F22 J61 K37 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:119985&r=mig |