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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Christina Felfe; Lukas Kagerbauer; Max Müller; Christoph Sajons; Judith Saurer; Thomas Zwick |
| Abstract: | Do refugees face systematic disadvantages in the apprenticeship market and what measures can mitigate them? We address these questions using a combination of discrete choice experiments and information treatments involving 800 firms in Ger many. Our findings show that refugees are much less likely to be accepted for ap prenticeships than their native counterparts, unless they are substantially better qualified in terms of formal education. However, this gap can be significantly re duced through two key mechanisms: signaling soft skills such as discipline, moti vation, and reliability, and implementing public policy programs that enhance job specific language proficiency and job readiness. |
| Keywords: | Labor shortages, Vocational training, Refugees, Soft skills, Integration policies |
| JEL: | J15 J24 J61 J68 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_778 |
| By: | Jiseon Baek (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany); D. Susie Lee (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Fertility of immigrant women has often been framed as a remedy for declining birth rates and population ageing in some high-income countries with low fertility rates. South Korea, for example, has attracted immigrant women to form families with South Korean men – often through a commodified process involving broker agencies – resulting in older native men matching with younger Southeast Asian women. Yet, immigrant women in South Korea have shown fertility rates that are either similar to or lower than those of native Korean women. To explain this unexpectedly low trend, this study 1) describes sociodemographic characteristics of immigrant women in commodified marriages, 2) quantifies their first and second birth risks, and 3) tests if a large spousal age gap explains the lower fertility outcomes. Event-history analyses were conducted based on the samples derived from National Survey of Multicultural Families and the National Survey on Fertility, Family Health, and Welfare. Findings indicate that commodified marriage migrant women display an accelerated transition to a first birth, but show depressed rates for second births, compared to other migrant women. Furthermore, the relative older age of husband appears as a condition that deters fertility progression. These findings suggest that structural barriers, including large spousal age gaps and multidimensional disadvantages, may constrain these women’s family-building prospects. |
| Keywords: | Korea, South, fertility, immigrants |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2026-039 |
| By: | Ruifeng Zhang; Yue Zhou |
| Abstract: | Emigration continues to shape the demographic and economic landscapes of Pacific Island Countries (PICs), though patterns and impacts vary widely across the region. This paper examines emigration trends in PICs and their implications on human capital and growth. We find that traditional emigration, which is largely characterized by a permanent relocation of young, highly skilled individuals—primarily to Australia and New Zealand—results in a brain drain in home countries. Moreover, many of these emigrants work in low-skilled jobs abroad, indicating significant skill mismatches and limited skill acquisition. More recent emigration has been driven by the expansion of labor mobility arrangements (LMAs) in Australia and New Zealand, involving low-skilled young workers who typically return home. These LMAs offer opportunities to mitigate brain drain, reduce youth unemployment, and support near-term economic growth through remittances. At the same time, children of LMA workers are more likely to drop out of school, thus undermining human capital accumulation and limiting long-term output gains. From a policy perspective, the results suggest that temporary labor mobility can be a helpful development instrument, while complementary policies are needed to safeguard children’s education, promote the productive use of remittances, and strengthen skills development and job creation at home. |
| Keywords: | International migration; labor mobility arrangements; remittances; human capital accumulation; economic growth; Pacific Island Countries |
| Date: | 2026–09–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2026/191 |
| By: | Murathanoglu, Emir (Department of Economics, Oberlin College) |
| Abstract: | I study how typhoons affect international labor migration from Philippine municipalities using administrative data on the universe of new migrant contracts. Typhoons increase out-migration for up to three years, but simultaneously shift migrants toward lower-paying occupations and destinations. Average migrant cohort wages fall by 0.27– 0.41% for each 1% typhoon-induced increase in migration. This fall is not explained by observable selection, as typhoon-induced migrants have higher educational attainment. These patterns are consistent with a simple migration search model, where worsening origin conditions incentivize potential migrants to search and leave for lower-paying overseas contracts. Despite this downgrading, back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest 16–19% of the increase in remittances following typhoons can be attributed to new labor migration. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Labor migration, Natural disasters, Philippines |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J61 Q54 J64 |
| Date: | 2026–08–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cxv:wpaper:2607 |
| By: | Andrea Weber; David Card; Wolfgang Dauth; Wolfgang Frimmel; Julia Schmieder; Rudolf Winter-Ebmer |
| Abstract: | How big are the gains to international migration? How do they vary across mi- grants? We study these questions using linked administrative data for Austria and Germany, focusing on migrants who were steadily employed 2-4 years be- fore their move and using their previous co-workers as a comparison group for a difference-in-differences design. We combine data from the origin and desti- nation countries for 5 years after the move, allowing us to assess the gains for those who remain in the destination and those who return. On average, mi- grants from Austria to Germany experience an immediate and persistent rise of around 13% in their daily wage relative to their matched co-workers, while migrants from Germany to Austria gain about 4%. The higher returns for Aus- trians are mainly driven by higher average wages in Germany, rather than by differential selection of migrants. Consistent with a dynamic learning model, the returns to migration are largest for migrants who remain in the destination country, smaller for those who return after 1-4 years, and zero or even slightly negative for those who return in less than a year. They are also larger for mi- grants who follow established cross-border networks between workplaces. To help interpret our findings we conduct a parallel analysis of domestic migrants who move to a larger city (Vienna or one of the 5 largest cities in Germany). “Big city†movers experience gains in wages of about 5% for Austrians and 10% for Germans. Again the gains are largest for those who remain in the des- tination city, with smaller effects for those who move on. |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:econwp:2026-07 |
| By: | Linda Dezso (University of Graz, Austria; EcoAustria - Institute for Economic Research, Austria); Christian Koch (University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom) |
| Abstract: | Public demands to restrict immigrants' access to welfare typically invoke immigrants' outgroup status and their allegedly insufficient contributions. While contributions are fundamental to the welfare state, immigrants' contributions are not directly observable, which creates fertile ground for misperceptions that political rhetoric often exploits when portraying natives as the main contributors. We present results from a stylized experiment in which UK-resident natives and immigrants are paired to divide resources. We isolate how ingroup favoritism and framed contributor status shape distributive choices and fair-share beliefs, even in the absence of actual differences in contributions to the resources. We find no statistically significant effect of ingroup favoritism on choices, but both natives and immigrants claim more when framed as contributors. Making unequal allocations costly reduces claims, and secondary analyses suggest that costliness also attenuates the contributor effect. Both groups also report higher fair-share beliefs when framed as contributors than when they are not. These findings show that merely framing individuals as contributors shapes distributive preferences in self-serving ways and produces egocentrically biased fair-share beliefs. We propose that incorporating such self-serving dynamics into the microfoundations of preferences for redistribution toward immigrants could help explain exclusionary welfare preferences beyond explanations centered on anti-immigrant attitudes and nationalism. |
| Keywords: | contributions, framing, redistribution, ingroup favoritism, self-serving behavior, fairness beliefs, natives, immigrants, spectators, UK |
| JEL: | C9 D63 D69 D91 J15 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grz:wpaper:2026-18 |