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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Linea Hasager |
| Abstract: | In most countries, men are the principal asylum applicants, while women are admitted through family-reunification procedures. Family reunification implies that women’s residence permits are contingent on remaining married to their husbands. Using a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) Design, I document that granting asylum to family-reunified women improves their economic integration, increases the probability of divorce and decreases their risk of being victims of violence. I find significant impacts on victimization and economic integration regardless of whether the woman remains married or not. I propose that the results can be explained by a reduction in uncertainty about residency and an increase in female bargaining power when the women are granted an autonomous asylum status. |
| Keywords: | refugees, asylum recognition, family reunification, female integration, violence against women, staggered difference-in-differences design |
| JEL: | J12 J15 J61 K37 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10866&r=mig |
| By: | Jacopo Bassetto; Teresa Freitas Monteiro |
| Abstract: | Migration is often temporary, and the intended length of stay in the host country is an important determinant of immigrants’ labor market behavior, human capital investment, and socioeconomic integration. In this paper, we investigate whether safety conditions in the home country affect immigrants’ return intentions and job search behavior. We combine administrative and survey data with precise information on terrorist attacks worldwide. Our identification strategy exploits the quasi-random occurrence of terrorist attacks in the home country relative to the timing of interviews and job separations in Germany. We show that immigrants interviewed after a terrorist attack in their home country are 12 percentage points more likely to wish to remain in Germany permanently. Immigrants react more strongly if they are less integrated in Germany and have close family members in their home country. Consistent with the prediction that revisions to the intended length of stay affect immigrants’ labor market behavior, we show that immigrants who enter unemployment when a terrorist event hits their home country are 1.8 percentage points more likely to be employed within three months than immigrants who enter unemployment in quiet times. Among those who find employment within three months, immigrants who experience terror events receive lower hourly wages and are more likely to work part-time. These results suggest that immigrants who enter unemployment in a month with high levels of violence in the home country trade immediate job security for lower earnings and less-productive firms. |
| Keywords: | immigration, uncertainty, violence, return migration, unemployment |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J64 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10908&r=mig |
| By: | Portes, Jonathan (King's College London) |
| Abstract: | The end of free movement and the introduction of the post-Brexit migration system represent the most important changes to the UK migration system in half a century. Coinciding with the aftereffects of the pandemic, the result has been very large changes both to the numbers of those coming for work and study, and to their composition, both in terms of countries of origin and in the sectors and occupations of new migrants. It has also resulted in a political backlash, resulting in significant further changes to the system announced in December 2023. I discuss the evidence to date of the impact of recent migration trends on the UK economy and labour market, distinguishing between different sectors. |
| Keywords: | migration, productivity, labour markets, Brexit |
| JEL: | F22 J48 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16728&r=mig |
| By: | William W. Olney; Owen Thompson |
| Abstract: | Internal migration in the United States has declined substantially over the past several decades, which has important implications for individual welfare, macroeconomic adjustments, and other key outcomes. This paper studies the determinants of internal migration and how they have changed over time. We use administrative data from the IRS covering the universe of bilateral moves between every Commuting Zone (CZ) in the country over a 23 year period. This data is linked to information on local wage levels and home prices, and we estimate bilateral migration determinants in rich regression specifications that contain CZ-pair fixed effects. Consistent with theoretical predictions, results show that migration is decreasing with origin wages and destination home prices, and is increasing with destination wages and origin home prices. We then examine the contributions of earnings and home prices to the noted overall decline in internal migration. These analyses show that wages on their own would have led to an increase in migration rates, primarily because migrants are increasingly responsive to high earnings levels in potential destination CZs. However, these wage effects have been more than offset by housing related factors, which have increasingly impeded internal mobility. In particular, migration has become much less responsive to housing prices in the origin CZ, such that many households that would have left in response to high home prices several decades ago now choose to stay. |
| JEL: | J31 J61 R23 R31 |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32123&r=mig |
| By: | Ramón Rey; Günther G. Schulze; Nikita Zakharov (Department of International Economic Policy, University of Freiburg) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effect of Venezuelan transit migration on crime rates in Colombia. We exploit the reopening of the VenezuelaColombia border in 2016, which has led to a surge in transit migration, and geospatial information about the distinct routes through which the migrants crossed Colombia. Employing a difference-in-differences approach and propensity score matching, we find that transit migration increased property crime rates in crossed municipalities, with both native Colombians and Venezuelan refugees seeing higher victimization rates. Violent crimes remained unaffected. This is the first study to document a link between transit migration and crime. |
| Keywords: | crime, transit migration, Venezuela |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fre:wpaper:44&r=mig |
| By: | León, Daniel; Abdulkadri, Abdullahi |
| Abstract: | This study assesses international migration trends in 28 Caribbean countries from 2000 to 2020 and discusses the implications of these trends for different aspects of sustainable development in the subregion. It is well-documented that the Caribbean is a subregion that has exhibited net emigration, but this trend has intensified over the last two decades, with Global North regions representing the main destination of Caribbean emigrants. Although immigration to the Caribbean increased from 2000 to 2020, this increase was less substantial than that recorded for emigration from the subregion. By 2020, intra-Caribbean migration stocks accounted for just over half of all immigration stocks in the subregion, showing growing intra-Caribbean mobility of persons. International migration trends in the Caribbean, particularly emigration from the subregion, have implications for the subregion’s sustainable development, and these are reflected in indicators such as international financial flows, demographic dynamics, and labour productivity. In general, the high net emigrant stock of the Caribbean directly correlates with remittance inflows to the subregion. Furthermore, many countries of the subregion with ageing populations stand to gain from increased immigration as it rejuvenates their labour forces. However, with highly skilled labour constituting a large and growing proportion of the net emigrant stocks, the resulting brain drain in the Caribbean could have a more profound impact on the sustainable development of the subregion. Available data showed that most countries with net emigration during the period covered by this study experienced negative or stagnant labour productivity levels. Considering the importance of quality data in assessing international migration trends, it is pertinent to collect, analyse, and disseminate international migration data in the Caribbean following international standards and best practices to facilitate optimal use of the subregion’s international migration statistics. This study has revealed some advances and gaps among Caribbean countries in producing international migration data. Some Caribbean countries have included questions on international migration in their national censuses, household surveys, and labour force surveys. Nevertheless, gaps remain in collecting international migration indicators, especially those related to labour and international university student mobility. Leveraging administrative data, inter-agency coordination, and international cooperation can help countries improve the collection of international migration data, thereby enhancing national statistical capacity in the Caribbean. |
| Date: | 2024–01–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col033:68841&r=mig |
| By: | Akgündüz, Yusuf Emre (Sabanci University); Aydemir, Abdurrahman B. (Sabanci University); Cilasun, Seyit Mümin (TED University); Kirdar, Murat Güray (Bogazici University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the degree to which immigration shock to a region propagates through supply chains. Using the unexpected arrival of Syrian refugees densely concentrated in border regions of Turkey, we estimate how firms throughout the country are affected in terms of their sales, employment, and wages. We also estimate the effect of the shock on interprovincial trade, focusing on trade volume and network formation. The results point to positive spillover effects of immigration for firms with pre-existing links to Syrian refugee-hosting regions through upstream and downstream linkages. We further find evidence for increased trade volume and network expansion through new trade linkages. |
| Keywords: | immigration, propagation, firm-to-firm trade, employment, production networks |
| JEL: | D22 J61 L14 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16770&r=mig |
| By: | McAvay, Haley; Vasilopoulos, Pavlos |
| Abstract: | Across national contexts, residents of ethnically diverse areas tend to be more supportive toward immigration. Yet the mechanism behind this trend is not fully understood. Do immigrant attitudes impact residential location or does residential location impact immigrant attitudes? In this paper we draw on panel data from the British Election Study to assess the extent to which the correlation between attitudes towards immigration and ethnic diversity is driven by residential sorting or contextual effects. First, to test residential sorting, we explore how patterns of mobility into and out of residential areas based on levels of ethnic diversity relate to prior attitudes towards immigration. Second, to test contextual effects, we run panel models to identify whether residential location influences tolerance towards immigration, net of individual unobservables. The findings suggest that while attitudes towards immigration have no impact on the likelihood of moving out of ethnically diverse areas, they do shape the likelihood of moving into such areas. Respondents with higher tolerance are more likely to enter areas with high ethnic diversity, in line with residential sorting. In contrast, we find little evidence that residential location exerts an effect on attitudes towards immigration. |
| Date: | 2024–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:jvdrz&r=mig |
| By: | Luciana Méndez Errico (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía); Sofía Santín (Universidad de la República (Uruguay). Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y de Administración. Instituto de Economía) |
| Abstract: | We study the extent to which individuals' reported job dissatisfaction could drive brain drain in a developing country, taking Uruguay as a case study. We focus on a particular group of highly skilled workers, those holding a PhD and working in research, due to their relevance for development. This group has not been previously addressed in the literature on brain drain. We build on previous literature and address causality by estimating seemingly unrelated equations with instrumental variables. Our results point to a negative causal relationship between job satisfaction and a researcher's desire to emigrate. We also find that researchers embedded in international academic networks are more prone to report an intention to emigrate. Our policy recommendations are in line with those aiming to increase pecuniary and non-pecuniary aspects of the job, and to implement complex policies of international collaboration with researchers living abroad in order to at least partially offset brain drain. |
| Keywords: | brain drain, migration, human capital, subjective well-being, Uruguay |
| JEL: | F22 J24 J28 O15 |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulr:wpaper:dt-18-23&r=mig |