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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Resul Cesur; Sadullah Yıldırım |
| Abstract: | Evolutionary accounts assert that while diversity may lower subjective well-being (SWB) by creating an evolutionary mismatch between evolved psychological tendencies and the current social environment, human societies can adapt to diversity via intergroup contact under appropriate conditions. Exploiting a novel natural experiment in history, we examine the impact of the social environment, captured by population diversity, on SWB. We find that diversity lowers cognitive and hedonic measures of SWB. Diversity-induced deteriorations in the quality of the macrosocial environment, captured by reduced social cohesion, retarded state capacity, and increased inequality in economic opportunities, emerge as mechanisms explaining our findings. The analysis of first- and second-generation immigrants in Europe and the USA reveals that the misery of home country diversity persists even after neutralizing the role of the social environment. However, these effects diminish among the second generation, suggesting that long-term improvements in the social environment can alleviate the burden of diversity. Finally, in exploring whether human societies can adapt to diversity, we show evidence that diversity causes adopting cultural traits (such as establishing stronger family ties, assigning greater importance to friendships, and adopting a positive attitude towards competition) that can mitigate the misery of diversity. These results survive an exhaustive set of robustness checks. |
| JEL: | D60 D63 I30 I31 N30 Z13 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33163 |
| By: | Luisito Bertinelli (DEM, Université du Luxembourg, LU); Arrnaud Bourgain (DEM, Université du Luxembourg, LU); Elisabeth Kempter (DEM, Université du Luxembourg, LU) |
| Abstract: | How do cash crop price shocks shape migration intentions in rural, agriculturally intensive regions of sub- Saharan Africa? Focusing on communities heavily reliant on cash crop income, we examine migration intentions following negative cash crop price shocks. Using a difference-in-differences approach with continuous treatment, we analyze data from 278, 898 rural individuals across 432 regions in 41 sub- Saharan African countries. The results indicate that a negative cash crop price shock increases the likelihood of international migration intentions, an effect that is particularly pronounced in regions with higher cropland intensity. These findings are confirmed by several additional analyses and contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between agricultural livelihood instability and migration intentions in sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | migration, cash crops, agriculture, economic and price shocks, sub-Saharan Africa. |
| JEL: | F22 R23 Q10 E30 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luc:wpaper:25-03 |
| By: | Taylor Jaworski; Erik O. Kimbrough; Nicole Saito |
| Abstract: | We propose a new measure of cultural distance based on differences in the composition of first names and church denominations between locations. We use a gravity equation to estimate the elasticity of migration flows with respect to the two components of cultural distance as well as a standard measure of travel costs via the transportation network in the United States between 1850 and 1870. Our findings indicate a modest role for cultural distance relative to travel costs in explaining migration flows. We construct migration costs that reflect the distinct contributions of cultural distance and travel costs, and use an economic geography model of migration to quantify their effects. Travel costs are substantially more important than cultural distance for aggregate welfare. Nevertheless, we provide evidence that the components of cultural distance play a role in shaping of how many people move and their final destinations. |
| JEL: | N0 N71 N91 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33192 |
| By: | Mr. Philip Barrett; Brandon Tan |
| Abstract: | We use a shift-share approach to estimate the impact of inward immigration on local inflation in the United States. We find that a higher rate of immigration reduces inflation, lowering it by about 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points following a doubling of immigration. Higher immigration flows also lower local goods inflation, increase local housing and utilities inflation, and have no statistically significant impact on inflation in other services. Effects are approximately two and three time larger for working age and low-education immigrants. We do not detect a statistically significant impact of more educated immigrants on overall inflation, but they do increase local housing inflation. Our results can be jointly rationalized by a simple general equilibrium model where the substitutability of capital and labor varies across industries but capital is fixed in the short run. |
| Keywords: | Immigration; inflation |
| Date: | 2025–01–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2025/005 |
| By: | Berger, Thor (Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS),); Karadja, Mounir (Department of Economics, Uppsala University); Prawitz, Erik (Department of Economics and Statistics, Linnaeus University) |
| Abstract: | We document that large cities were instrumental in shaping women’s work and family outcomes in the early 20th century. We focus on migrants to Stockholm, Sweden’s largest city, using representative, linked census data. Female migrants to Stockholm saw persistent changes in work and family outcomes over the life-cycle. Migrants were approximately 50 percentage points more likely to enter the labor force and less likely to marry or have children than their sisters migrating to rural areas. They experienced skill-upgrading and higher real incomes, without adverse mortality effects. Early structural shifts towards services partly explain these patterns. |
| Keywords: | Female labor force participation; Migration; Urbanization; Economic history |
| JEL: | I15 N93 Q25 |
| Date: | 2025–01–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1516 |
| By: | Ruedin, Didier |
| Abstract: | The objective of this research synthesis is to collect and summarize the research literature on Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland. This is done through a systematic review, mostly in the form of a narrative review and with statistical indicators that are synthesized. There is a wide range of evidence on Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland and their integration, although substantive and systematic gaps remain. The review provides a brief historical background, looks at the demographic composition of Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland, discusses economic integration, housing, education, social integration, crime and safety, health and well-being, and attitudes to Ukrainian refugees. Much less is known about cultural integration and political participation. Given the size of the population and the ongoing war in Ukraine, more research on Ukrainian refugees is warranted, particularly in the direction of successful integration in a context where return seems increasingly unlikely --- although dual-intent remains the official focus ---, and in areas beyond economic integration that affect well-being and intentions to return. |
| Keywords: | Ukraine, Switzerland, attitudes, demographics, economics, education, health, housing, integration, media, participation, literature review, refugees |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J15 J61 K37 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:308844 |
| By: | Beata Wo\'zniak-J\k{e}chorek; S{\l}awomir Ku\'zmar; David Bole |
| Abstract: | The main goal of this paper is to assess the likelihood of office workers relocating to the suburbs due to work-from-home opportunities and the key factors influencing these preferences. Our study focuses on Poland, a country with different cultural individualism at work, which can impact work-from-home preferences and, indirectly, home relocation desires. Given the methodological limitations of official data on remote work practices in Poland, we conducted an original survey, gathering primary data from a nationally representative sample of office workers living in cities with populations exceeding 100, 000. To investigate the factors shaping employees' preferences for suburban relocation driven by remote work, we utilized logistic regression to analyze the effects of socio-economic and employment characteristics, commuting experiences, and reported changes in work productivity. Our findings reveal that age, mode of commuting, perceived changes in work productivity, and sector ownership are significant determinants, strongly affecting home relocation preferences in response to work-from-home opportunities. These results align with previous research, typically based on data from countries with different cultural frameworks and more developed work-from-home practices. |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2412.07459 |