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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Duleep, Harriet; Dowhan, Dan; Liu, Xingfei; Regets, Mark; Gesumaria, Robert |
| Abstract: | The 1924 Immigration Act excluded immigrants from economically developing countries to the point of their near total exclusion. Forty years later, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act eliminated most discriminatory county-of-origin barriers. America's doors opened and immigration from economically developing countries soared. Fueling debates about the "quality" of immigrants from economically developing countries, empirical studies based on a wellrespected methodology conclude that post-1965 immigrant men have low initial earnings and sluggish earnings growth. This methodology is based on flawed assumptions (Duleep, Liu, and Regets, 2022). Removing these assumptions reveals high earnings growth for post-1965 immigrant men in accordance with the Immigrant Human Capital Investment Model (Duleep and Regets, 1999). A similar story emerges for immigrant women, contradicting the Family Investment Hypothesis first put forth by Long (1980) and Duleep and Sanders (1993). It appears a pre- 1965/post-1965 transition occurred in the earnings profiles of U.S. immigrants, from earnings resembling those of U.S. natives to low initial earnings but much higher earnings growth than their U.S.-born statistical twins. The transition underlies the overtime success story of immigrant families from economically developing countries (Duleep, Regets, Sanders, and Wunnava, 2021); the high earnings growth reflects human capital investment that invigorates the economy (Duleep, Jaeger, and McHenry, 2018; Green, 1999, Green and Worswick, 2012). |
| Keywords: | Immigrant earning growth, human capital investment, skill transferability, immigrant quality, sample restrictions, family investment hypothesis, nonparametric estimation |
| JEL: | J15 J16 J24 J31 C1 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1596 |
| By: | Ha Trong Nguyen; Zajac, Tomasz; Tomaszewski, Wojtek; Mitrou, Francis |
| Abstract: | This study employs 2011 Census data linked to population-based administrative datasets to explore disparities in educational attainment and earnings trajectories among Australian-born children of diverse parental migration backgrounds from mid-adolescence to early adulthood. Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) second-generation immigrants exhibit superior academic outcomes, primarily driven by children of parents from select Asian countries. These individuals are more likely to complete higher education, particularly bachelor's and master's degrees, and specialise in fields such as management and commerce, health, natural and physical sciences, and engineering. Children of NESB immigrant parents initially earn less than their peers with Australian-born parents at ages 21-22. However, this gap closes by ages 23-24 and reverses by ages 26-27, with children of NESB fathers out-earning their counterparts by ages 28-29. Conversely, children of English-Speaking Background (ESB) immigrant parents, who exhibit weaker academic performance, also experience lower earnings compared to peers with Australian-born parents. This disparity emerges by ages 22-23 and widens throughout the study period, peaking at ages 28-29. The findings underscore the academic and economic advantages of NESB second-generation immigrants, contrasting with the challenges faced by ESB migrant counterparts, and highlight the importance of considering parental migration backgrounds in understanding post-school outcomes of Australian-born children of immigrant parents. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Intergenerational Correlation, Education, Income, Census, Administrative data, Australia |
| JEL: | I24 J24 J62 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1576 |
| By: | Vandenberghe, Vincent |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature on migrants' labour-market disadvantages by considering one dimension that has received limited attention in Europe: their occupations' (relative) physical arduousness. To quantify their arduousness gap, the paper combines i) data from the European Labour Force Survey (LFS) informing on occupation and immigration status with ii) information on occupational arduousness from the U.S. O*NET database, categorized at the ISCO 3-digit level. The findings reveal that first-generation migrants, particularly women and/or non-EU migrants, are disproportionately concentrated in arduous jobs, experiencing a significant disadvantage in working conditions. However, this disadvantage slowly diminishes over time, with the accumulation of residency in the host country leading to improved occupational outcomes. Notably, second-generation migrants close this gap and even experience a slight advantage in work arduousness compared to native workers, pointing to complete convergence. |
| Keywords: | Work Arduousness, Migrant-Native Arduousness Gap, Working Conditions, Convergence |
| JEL: | J81 J62 J71 O15 J24 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1595 |
| By: | Wu, Fengyu; Wang, Julia Shu-Huah; You, Jing; Teitler, Julien |
| Abstract: | This study examines the health impacts of a large-scale internal migration reform in China. Using nationally representative data from the China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey (2012-2018) and a unique dataset on city-level policy intensity and adoption timing, we employ a triple-difference approach to estimate the effects of migration policies on migrants' perceived physical and emotional health. We find that more lenient policies significantly improve migrants' health relative to natives. Integration policies yield health benefits approximately 3-4 times greater than selection policies. The most effective policy tools enhancing all health outcomes are integration policies granting migrants access to public services and education and selection policies targeting high-skilled migrants. Health improvements are driven by reduced overtime work, greater social capital, and stronger integration with natives. Analysis of treatment effect heterogeneity indicates that selection policies offer more consistent health benefits across various durations of residence, while integration policies primarily benefit long-term migrants. |
| Keywords: | Health, Migration Policies, Internal Migration, Hukou Reform, China |
| JEL: | I18 J61 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1598 |
| By: | Piotr Lewandowski; Agata Górny; Mateusz KrzÄ…kaÅ‚a; Marta PalczyÅ„ska |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the relationship between professional experiences and return intentions of Ukrainian war refugees in Poland, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Using country-wide, online surveys conducted in 2022 and 2023 and worker-level measures of job tasks, we show that refugees' high employment rate coexists with widespread occupational downgrading and task degradation. Refugees transitioning to lower-skilled jobs after arriving in Poland faced stark increases in routine task intensity (RTI), often equivalent to shifts from managerial to clerical roles. Even those retaining their occupational status experienced heightened RTI, signalling underutilisation of skills. We find that refugees who experience a greater task degradation were more likely to plan to return to Ukraine by 2023, particularly those who initially, in 2022, did not plan to return. This relationship persists even after accounting for earnings and occupational downgrading. These findings underscore the role of job content in shaping migration decisions and highlight implications for host countries' labour market policies and refugee integration strategies. |
| Keywords: | migration, return intentions, occupational downgrading, task content of jobs |
| JEL: | J24 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ibt:wpaper:wp012025 |
| By: | Andrew Mountford; Jonathan Wadsworth |
| Abstract: | Should immigration be regarded as an exogenous shock? If so, what is its effect on native wages? Might any effect differ across different sectors of the economy? In this paper we answer these questions by applying macroeconomic time series methods to UK labour market variables from 2001-2019 for 35 different sectors. The paper uses a VAR approach to model, for the first time, immigration, native wages and hours worked, as responding to demand, supply and immigration shocks at both aggregate and sectoral levels. The labour market is thereby subject to multiple shocks at any one time, with individual shocks reinforcing or offsetting each other. We find that the share of migrant labour is 'Granger caused' by other labour market variables which suggests that immigration is, in part, endogenously determined by aggregate demand and supply. However, it also retains a component which has a negative association between immigration and native wages. This component, which may be thought of as a 'migration shock', accounts for most of the change in migration share over the sample period and plays a significant negative role in the determination of native wage growth, particularly in unskilled sectors such as retail and hospitality. However other contemporaneous shocks have offsetting positive associations between immigration and native wages within the same sector. These effects also differ substantially across sectors. |
| Keywords: | immigration, wages, demand, supply, VAR, sectoral heterogeneity |
| Date: | 2025–04–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2089 |
| By: | Parag Mahajan (University of Delaware) |
| Abstract: | I study how access to foreign-born workers impacts firms and local economics in times of acute crisis. The 2020 H-2B visa lottery randomly gave some U.S. firms the chance to hire low-wage, migrant workers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using administrative data across three government agencies, I find that access to H-2B workers led to decreased business closures, increased revenues, increased payroll, and increased employment in 2020. I also find suggestive evidence that these effects spilled over to non-participant firms within the same county. |
| Keywords: | migrant workers, H-2B visa, COVID-19 pandemic, firm dynamics |
| JEL: | J23 F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:25-414 |
| By: | Yarkin, Alexander |
| Abstract: | This paper documents the effects of home-country Internet expansion on immigrants' health and subjective well-being (SWB). Combining data on SWB and health from the European Social Survey (ESS) with data on 3G and overall Internet expansion (ITU and Collins Batholomew), I find that immigrants' SWB and health increase following home-country Internet expansion. This result is observed in both the TWFE, and event study frameworks. The effects are stronger for (i) first-generation immigrants, (ii) those less socially integrated at destination, and (iii) those with stronger family ties to the origins. Thus, while recent evidence points towards negative effects of the Internet and social media on user well-being, the effects are very different for immigrants. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Internet, Subjective Well-being, Health, Social Networks |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1573 |
| By: | Jeremias Nieminen; Sanni Kiviholma; Ohto Kanninen; Hannu Karhunen |
| Abstract: | Labor market testing (LMT) requires firms to demonstrate there are no local work-ers available before hiring an immigrant. We examine the effect of removing LMT requirements for non-EU workers in Finland utilizing regional and temporal vari-ation in occupations exempted from LMT. We combine individual and firm-level administrative data with hand-collected information on local changes in labor market testing rules and apply a staggered difference-in-differences research design. We find that removing the LMT requirement increases the inflow of non-EU workers to treated occupation-region cells. This is mainly driven by non-EU individuals already in Finland. Five years post-treatment, the negative earnings effect is 2 % at the occupation-region level and 4% for incumbent workers at the individual level, more pronounced in low-wage and service-oriented occupations and among older workers. In low-paying occupations, the earnings effect is largely attributable to decreased working hours and to a suppressed wage drift for stayers. However, we also observe a positive employment effect at the individual level for workers in the upper segment of the wage distribution. At the firm level, LMT removal increases the number of non-EU employees while having no effect on profitability. |
| Keywords: | labor market testing, immigration, labor supply, wages, shortage list |
| JEL: | J20 J38 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2025–01–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pst:wpaper:352 |
| By: | Rumert, Luis |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic forced university students to transition to online learning due to mobility restrictions and campus closures. When in-person teaching resumed, many students had to commute or move closer to campus and adapt to a new learning and social environment. This paper examines how this mid-study return to campus impacted academic performance and whether all students had to bear the same costs. Using administrative student data from a public university in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a difference-in-differences approach, the results show an overall significant but small decrease in passed credit points and the number of registered exams. The effects increase over time and reach a 14 percent decrease in passed credit points and a 13 percent decrease in registered exams after five semesters. Additionally, the overall dropout probability decreases by 33 percent. The estimated effects are heterogenous with respect to cohorts, sex, and migration background. Moreover, the cost of student mobility increases by distance. |
| Keywords: | Student mobility, reopening of universities, academic performance, difference-in-differences |
| JEL: | I23 R23 I38 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:315489 |