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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Urbina, Maria Jose; Christina Wieser; Alvin Etang Ndip; Sandra Rozo |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of refugee camp hosting on local communities, specifically the Rohingya crisis in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. It uses remote sensing measurements and panel data to compare areas and individuals at varying distances before and after the Rohingya arrived. The results highlight the complex dynamics of areas that host displaced populations. The paper finds that when the proximity of a grid to the refugee camps increases by 30 km (18.6 miles), night light density rises by 1.7 percent and deforestation expands by 0.02 percent. Land use results align with these findings, showing a decline in dense-open forest and an increase in land covered by grass and crops. The analysis of individual-level data suggests that the Rohingya’s presence manifests in higher job formality, better access to aid, and more food consumption—all largely attributable to the activities of humanitarian organizations. However, their presence is also associated with heightened safety concerns and a higher prevalence of viral diseases such as diarrhea, fever, and cough. |
| Date: | 2024–08–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10884 |
| By: | Yashodhan Ghorpade; Muhammad Saad Imtiaz; Theingie Han |
| Abstract: | In recent years, Myanmar has witnessed considerable economic and political instability, leading many young people, particularly the higher-skilled, to consider migrating abroad for improved prospects. This paper employs an innovative method to quantify migration intentions among high-skilled youth by analyzing the take-up of migration at different wage premia. A randomized survey experiment then evaluates how hypothetical political and economic stabilization scenarios impact these intentions. The findings show that 35 percent of the respondents would be willing to take a similar job abroad for pay equal to their current income. Randomization within the survey indicates that political stabilization would potentially reduce high-skilled workers’ desire to migrate by about 15 percent, especially among men, those living in high-conflict areas, and persons with lower absolute income but higher perceived relative income. In contrast, prospects of economic stabilization do not have a significant effect on migration intentions. In the absence of political stability and a reduction in conflict, economic stabilization is unlikely to reduce talent outflows among the young. |
| Date: | 2024–08–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10878 |
| By: | Segnana, Juan; Gladys Lopez-Acevedo; Robertson, Raymond; Roche Rodriguez, Jaime Alfonso |
| Abstract: | The Syrian Civil War in 2011 led to a substantial influx of refugees into Jordan, with more than 660, 000 Syrians arriving by 2015. More than half of these refugees were of working age. This study shows that Syrian refugees have less education than their Jordanian counterparts, and policies attempted to help them to assimilate into manufacturing. The study tests two hypotheses related to refugee assimilation. The first hypothesis examines the 2016 Jordan Compact with the European Union, which aimed to integrate Syrian refugees and improve Jordan’s export profile with simplified rules of origin for certain industries. If the Jordan Compact was effective, a relative increase in exports to the European Union, compared to other regions, would be expected. The second hypothesis suggests that the successful integration of Syrian workers into the manufacturing sector contributed to a boost in manufacturing exports to all destinations relative to other exports. The study conducts a gravity difference-in-differences analysis to evaluate these two hypotheses. The findings show little, if any, evidence supporting the first hypothesis but strong support for the second. These findings suggest that although the simplified rules of origin had limited impact on exports to the European Union, the Jordanian government effectively integrated Syrian workers into the manufacturing sector. Labor force surveys indicate that a skill mismatch impeded the integration of Syrian workers into the industries targeted by the Jordan Compact, but refugees were successfully assimilated into the manufacturing industry. |
| Date: | 2024–09–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10903 |
| By: | Johannes G. Hoogeveen; Robert Benjamin Hopper |
| Abstract: | Humanitarian models of refugee assistance increasingly promote refugee self-reliance without offering a clear understanding of what constitutes self-reliance, or how to measure it, although measurement is essential to assess whether the promotion of self-reliance has been successful. This paper proposes an approach to measuring self-reliance rooted in global poverty measurement: a refugee is self-reliant if their self-earned income exceeds the locally relevant poverty line. In its empirical application, the paper uses estimates of self-reliance drawn from 11 consumption surveys, which present the universe of data that can be used for such purposes. Refugees in middle-income countries are found to be far more likely to be self-reliant than those in lower income countries, while refugees residing in urban and non-camp settings demonstrate higher levels of self-reliance than those in rural and camp environments, reflecting the presence of greater economic opportunities outside camps and in urban areas. The paper also finds evidence that aid and self-reliance are inversely correlated, with more aid spent in environments where refugee self-reliance is constrained. The paper argues that a different outcome should be envisaged, one in which governments that encourage refugees to be self-reliant receive more aid. Such an approach would be beneficial for refugees, who would gain financial autonomy, and for host country citizens, who often face high levels of poverty and at times are even poorer than refugees. |
| Date: | 2024–09–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10910 |
| By: | Benjamin Cornejo Costas; Nicola Cortinovis; Andrea Morrison; |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between migrant inventors, informal institutions and the development of green technologies in European regions. We argue that migrant inventors act as an unlocking mechanism that transfers external knowledge to host regions, and that informal institutions (i.e. social capital, migrant acceptance) mediate this effect. The work is based on an original dataset of migrant inventors covering 271 NUTS2 regions in the 27 EU countries, the UK, Switzerland, and Norway. The analysis shows that migrant inventors help their host regions to diversify into green technologies. The regions with the highest levels of both measures of social capital show a higher propensity of migrant inventors to act knowledge brokers. Conversely, regions with lower levels of migrant acceptance and social capital do not seem to contribute to this effect. |
| Keywords: | lock-in, international migration, green innovation, social capital, acceptance, regional diversification, EU regions |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O30 R12 Q55 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2503 |
| By: | Maczulskij, Terhi |
| Abstract: | Abstract This study examines whether non-native workers contribute to firms’ export growth, using matched data spanning nearly three decades and covering the entire workforce and all manufacturing firms. The estimation strategy relies on the timing of a firm’s first non-native hire, constructing counterfactuals from otherwise similar firms that hire non-native workers a few years later. The results indicate that nonnative employment is associated with increased total exports, greater trade with workers’ home countries, and a higher number of exported products. These findings remain robust when addressing potential endogeneity concerns, such as the simultaneity of hiring decisions and broader export growth strategies. |
| Keywords: | Firm-level, Hiring, Immigrant, Trade |
| JEL: | F14 F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2025–02–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:126 |
| By: | Justin C. Wiltsire (Department of Economics, University of Victoria) |
| Abstract: | Non-resident students are often accused of negatively affecting academic quality and crowding out resident students. We present new evidence on this relationship by exploiting the removal of an enrollment cap on non-resident students at a highly ranked state flagship university. We find this policy yielded a 29 percent increase in non-resident enrollment (coming almost entirely from domestic—rather than international—students), and a consequent 47 percent increase in tuition revenue which funded large increases in financial aid disbursed at the university, particularly for low-income resident students. We find no evidence of negative effects on several measures of academic quality or resident-student enrollment. |
| Keywords: | Higher Education Finance; Non-Resident Students; Regional Migration; Enrollment Caps |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vic:vicddp:2408 |
| By: | Maertens, Annemie; Siddharth Sharma; Khamis, Melanie |
| Abstract: | Internal migration and structural transformation are strongly interrelated. This paper uses Indian data spanning 2001–13 to examine a little-known aspect of this relationship: how migration affects agricultural land rental contracts. Building on anecdotal evidence and theory, the paper hypothesizes that as landlords migrate away, their choice of contract for tenant-cultivators changes from sharecropping to fixed rent. Using a shift-share instrument that exploits information on bilateral migration flows between districts, the paper shows that migration increased fixed rent tenancy and contract formalization. Given the continued importance of agricultural land rental markets, these findings have significant implications for rural efficiency and equity in developing countries. |
| Date: | 2024–08–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10865 |
| By: | González-Leonardo, Miguel |
| Abstract: | Background: Spanish migration sources are widely used by researchers and international organisations. Thus, consistent time-series are crucial. In 2021, the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) replaced the Residential Variation Statistics (EVR) and the Migration Statistics (EM) with the new Change of Residence and Migration Statistics, which included methodological changes. Objective: I evaluate differences between the EMCR and previous sources and produce weights to make the EMCR consistent with the EVR and EM. I publish the weights in an open repository (https://github.com/MiguelGonzalezLeonardo/Weights_EMCR_Spain). Methods: I analyse the percentage differences for internal and international migration between the EMCR and the previous sources at NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 levels in 2021, the only year when the three sources were published simultaneously. I then produce weights by dividing the migration counts from the EVR and EM by those from the EMCR for each spatial unit. Results: I found strong differences between the new source and the previous sources for international migration, especially for emigration, which needs to be calibrated with the weights. The EMCR and EVR register similar numbers of internal migrants. Conclusions: Methodological changes in statistical sources can lead to large differences in the measurement of a social phenomenon. This suggests the need to assess time-series consistency and produce weights for calibration. Contribution: I provide open data with weights to calibrate internal and international migration in the new Spanish migration source and produce consistent time-series with previous sources at different scales. The weights can be used by researchers from different countries and international organisations. |
| Date: | 2025–02–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:cg4qy_v1 |
| By: | Jonas Feld (IAAEU; University of Trier); Joanna Tyrowicz (Group for Research in Applied Economics (GRAPE); University of Warsaw; Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)) |
| Abstract: | We provide novel evidence on the inequality of returns to immigrant skills in hosting economies. Although migrant wage gaps are well established in the literature, less is known about the origins of their heterogeneity. We propose a potential rationale for this gap related to the linguistic proximity between the destination and origin countries. We exploit individual-level data from nine diverse destination countries, with migrants from a highly heterogeneous group of origin countries, for both recent and long-term migrants. We find that lower linguistic proximity between origin and destination is associated with a higher average wage penalty for highly skilled migrants and a substantially lower position in the wage distribution. |
| Keywords: | migration, linguistic proximity, returns to education |
| JEL: | F22 I23 I26 Z13 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fme:wpaper:102 |
| By: | Leng, Alyssa Amanda; Edwards, Ryan Barclay (Australian National University); Wood, Terence |
| Abstract: | Exposure to quantitative information about immigrants or narratives around the costs and benefits of immigration can alter people’s immigration policy preferences. Using a survey experiment with a representative sample of over 5, 000 respondents in Australia, we find substantial and contradictory misperceptions across the number, origins and labour market attributes of immigrants. Most respondents prefer less immigration overall, but favour increased high-skilled immigration. Support for increased immigration rises by 4.5—7 percentage points when respondents are shown narratives on how immigrants can help improve housing affordability. Conversely, highlighting the perceived negative impacts of immigration on housing affordability reduces support for increasing or maintaining current immigration levels. Providing quantitative information on immigrants’ characteristics generates smaller increases in support for more immigration than narratives. For immigration from Pacific Island countries, exposure to quantitative information increases support for relaxing visa requirements but there is no evidence that narratives have any effect. |
| Date: | 2025–02–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:c63uq_v1 |