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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Elsner, Benjamin (IZA); Narciso, Gaia (Trinity College Dublin); Thijssen, Jacco J. J. (University of York) |
| Abstract: | Diaspora networks provide information to future migrants and influence both their decision to migrate and their success in the host country. While the existing literature explains the effect of networks on migration decisions through the size of the migrant community, we show that the quality of the network is an equally important determinant. We argue that networks that are more integrated in the society of the host country can give more accurate information about job prospects to future migrants. In a decision model with imperfect signalling we show that migrants with access to a better network are more likely to make the right decision – they migrate only if they gain – and they migrate earlier. We test these predictions empirically using data on recent Mexican migrants to the US, and exploit the geographic diffusion of Mexicans since the 1980s as well as the settlement of immigrants that came during the Bracero program in the 1950s to instrument for the quality of networks. The results provide strong evidence that connections to a better-integrated network lead to better outcomes after migration. Yet we find no evidence that the quality of the network affects the timing of migration. |
| Keywords: | diasporas, information, migration |
| JEL: | F22 J15 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7863&r=mig |
| By: | Chiswick, Barry R. (George Washington University); Miller, Paul W. (Curtin University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a review of the research on the ‘economics of language' as applied to international migration. Its primary focuses are on: (1) the effect of the language skills of an individual on the choice of destination among international (and internal) migrants, both in terms of the ease of obtaining proficiency in the destination language and access to linguistic enclaves, (2) the determinants of destination language proficiency among international migrants, based on a model (the three E's) of Exposure to the destination language in the origin and destination, Efficiency in the acquisition of destination language skills, and Economic incentives for acquiring this proficiency, (3) the consequences for immigrants of acquiring destination language proficiency, with an emphasis on labor market outcomes, and in particular earnings. Factors that are considered include age, education, gender, family structure, costs of migration, linguistic distance, duration in the destination, return migration, and ethnic enclaves, among others. Analyses are reported for the immigrant experiences in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, Germany, Israel and Spain. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, language, bilingualism, human capital, earnings |
| JEL: | J15 J24 J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7880&r=mig |
| By: | Ferrie, Joseph (Northwestern University); Hatton, Timothy J. (University of Essex) |
| Abstract: | This is a draft chapter for B. R. Chiswick and P. W. Miller (eds.) Handbook on the Economics of International Migration. It provides an overview of trends and developments in international migration since the industrial revolution. We focus principally on long-distance migration to rich destination countries, the settler economies in the nineteenth century and later the OECD. The chapter describes the structure, direction and determinants of migration flows and the assimilation experience of migrants. It also examines the impact of migration on destination and source countries, and explores the political economy behind the evolution of immigration policy. We provide an historical context for current debates on immigration and immigration policy and we conclude by speculating on future trends. |
| Keywords: | international migration history, development of immigration policy |
| JEL: | F22 N30 N40 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7866&r=mig |
| By: | de Coulon, Augustin; Radu, Dragos; Steinhardt, Max Friedrich |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses the potentially causal link between native attitudes and migrants' intended duration of stay. We exploit the variation in perceived anti-immigrant sentiments using information on the media exposure of Romanian migrants in Italy. A unique shock in public attitudes towards Romanian migrants allows us to identify the impact of a change in attitudes on out-migration plans. Our results suggest a significant impact of native attitudes on settlement intentions in Italy. The subgroup analysis indicates a particularly pronounced impact for low-skilled migrants, which has important consequences for the integration prospects of migrants in Italy. -- |
| Keywords: | return migration,public attitudes,media consumption,crime |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hwwirp:146&r=mig |
| By: | Biavaschi, Costanza (IZA); Elsner, Benjamin (IZA) |
| Abstract: | Migrants are typically self-selected from the population of their home country. While a large literature has identified the causes of self-selection, we turn in this paper to the consequences. Using a combination of non-parametric econometrics and calibrated simulation, we quantify the impact of migrant self-selection on per-capita GDP in both sending and receiving countries. Two episodes of mass migration serve as examples: the migration from Norway to the US in the 1880s and the migration from Mexico to the US in the 2000s. We first estimate the degree of selection, and show that Norwegians were positively and Mexicans negatively selected. In a simulation exercise, we compare the economy under selective migration with a counterfactual in which the same number of migrants are neutrally selected. In both periods, we find virtually no aggregate effect in the US. Findings are different for the sending countries; migrant selection decreases Norwegian GDP by 0.3%, and increases Mexican GDP by almost 1%. While these effects may appear small, we demonstrate that the effect in Mexico is as large as the difference between no migration and the current level of migration. |
| Keywords: | international migration, selection, welfare |
| JEL: | D33 F22 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7865&r=mig |
| By: | Biavaschi, Costanza (IZA); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Despite the ongoing dialogue on facilitating mobility between the European Union and the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, very little is known about the magnitude and characteristics of migration from these countries. We find that EaP migrants experience worse labor market outcomes than other migrant groups, but current and potential migrants hold qualifications in those areas were skill shortages are expected. Therefore, the monitoring and supervision of EaP integration will be consequential in order to understand how much of the current brain waste is driven by poor assessment of foreign qualifications, and to unleash the potential of migration for the German economy. |
| Keywords: | brain waste, eastern partnership countries, labor mobility, foreign qualifications |
| JEL: | J15 J24 J61 J62 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7861&r=mig |
| By: | Catia Batista (Nova University of Lisbon); Gaia Narciso (Trinity College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | Do information flows matter for remittance behavior? We design and implement a randomized control trial to quantitatively assess the role of communication between migrants and their contacts abroad on the extent and value of remittance flows. In the experiment, a random sample of 1,500 migrants residing in Ireland was offered the possibility of contacting their networks outside the host country for free over a varying number of months. We find a sizable, positive impact of our intervention on the value of migrant remittances sent. Our results exclude that the remittance effect we identify is a simple substitution effect. Instead, our analysis points to this effect being a likely result of improved information via factors such as better migrant control over remittance use, enhanced trust in remittance channels due to experience sharing, or increased remittance recipients’ social pressure on migrants |
| Keywords: | information flows, international migration, migrant networks, remittances, randomized control trial |
| JEL: | F22 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2014001&r=mig |
| By: | Christian Dustmann (University College London); Joseph-Simon Görlach (University College London) |
| Abstract: | This chapter begins by documenting that temporary migrations are not only very common, but that outmigration of immigrants is selective both in terms of migrants’ individual characteristics and their economic outcomes. We then examine the problems that arise when estimating immigrants’ earnings profiles when outmigration is selective, and discuss the identifying assumptions needed to answer three different questions on immigrants’ earnings careers. We show how better data can help to relax these assumptions, suggest appropriate estimators, and provide an illustration using simulated data. We finally provide an overview of existing papers that use different types of data to address selective outmigration when estimating immigrants’ earnings profiles. |
| Keywords: | migrant selection, outmigration, return migration, earnings profiles |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2014002&r=mig |
| By: | Christian Dustmann (University College London, CrEAM and CEPR); Tommaso Frattini (University of Milan, CrEAM, IZA and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the fiscal impact of immigration on the UK economy, with a focus on the period since 1995. We provide estimates for the overall immigrant population for the period between 1995 and 2012, and for more recent immigrants who arrived since 2000, distinguishing between immigrants from European versus non-European countries. Overall, our findings indicate that EEA immigrants have made a positive fiscal contribution, even during periods when the UK was running budget deficits. This positive contribution is particularly noticeable for more recent immigrants that arrived since 2000 in particular from EEA countries. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Fiscal Impact, Welfare State |
| JEL: | J61 J68 H20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:359&r=mig |
| By: | Margherita Comola (Paris School of Economics (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)); Mariapia Mendola (University of Milan Bicocca and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first direct evidence on the determinants of link formation among immigrants in the host society. We use a purposely-designed survey on a representative sample of Sri Lankan immigrants living in Milan to study how migrants form social links among them and the extent to which this network provides them material support along three different dimensions: accommodation, credit, job-finding. Our results show that both weak and strong ties are more likely to exist between immigrants who are born in close-by localities at origin. The time of arrival has a U-shaped effect: links are more frequent between immigrants arrived at the same time, and between long-established immigrants and newcomers. Once the link is formed, material support is provided mainly to relatives while early migrant fellows are helpful for job finding. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Networks, Sri-Lanka, Milan |
| JEL: | J15 D85 C45 |
| Date: | 2013–06–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:353&r=mig |
| By: | Facchini, Giovanni (University of Nottingham); Patacchini, Eleonora (Syracuse University); Steinhardt, Max (Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | Using novel information from the German Socio-Economic Panel for the period 1996-2011, we document that migrants with a German friend are more similar to natives than those without a local companion along several important dimensions, including engagement in social activities, concerns about the economy, interest in politics and broad policy issues like the environment, crime and xenophobia. When looking at the determinants of friendship acquisition, we find that the acquisition of a new job is the cause (rather than the product) of social network variations. Other factors driving the acquisition of a native friend include the number of years the migrant has spent in the country, the birth of a child, residential mobility and additional education in the host country. |
| Keywords: | culture, migration, friendship formation, ethnic minorities |
| JEL: | A14 J15 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7881&r=mig |
| By: | Akay, Alpaslan (University of Gothenburg); Bargain, Olivier (University of Aix-Marseille II); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether the subjective well-being of migrants is responsive to fluctuations in macroeconomic conditions in their country of origin. Using the German Socio-Economic Panel for the years 1984 to 2009 and macroeconomic variables for 24 countries of origin, we exploit country-year variation for identification of the effect and panel data to control for migrants' observed and unobserved characteristics. We find strong (mild) evidence that migrants' well-being responds negatively (positively) to an increase in the GDP (unemployment rate) of their home country. That is, we originally demonstrate that migrants regard home countries as natural comparators and, thereby, suggest an original assessment of the migration's relative deprivation motive. We also show that migrants are positively affected by the performances of the German regions in which they live (a 'signal effect'). We demonstrate that both effects decline with years-since-migration and with the degree of assimilation in Germany, which is consistent with a switch of migrants' reference point from home countries to migration destinations. Results are robust to the inclusion of country-time trends, to control for remittances sent to relatives in home countries and to a correction for selection into return migration. We derive important implications for labor market and migration policies. |
| Keywords: | migrants, well-being, GDP, unemployment, relative concerns/deprivation |
| JEL: | C90 D63 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7862&r=mig |
| By: | Hubert JAYET (Université Lille 1, EQUIPPE); Glenn RAYP (Ghent University, SHERPPA); Ilse RUYSSEN (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES) and Ghent University, SHERPPA); Nadiya UKRAYINCHUK (Université de Lille 2, EQUIPPE) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses migratory streams to Belgian municipalities between 1994-2007. The Belgian population register constitutes a rich and unique database of yearly migrant in inflows and stocks broken down by nationality, which allows us to empirically explain the location choice of immigrants at municipality level. Specifically, we aim at separating the network effect, captured by the number of previous arrivals, from other location-specific characteristics such as local labor or housing market conditions and the presence of public amenities. We expect labor and housing market variables to operate at different levels and develop a nested model of location choice in which an immigrant first chooses a broad area, roughly corresponding to a labor market, and subsequently chooses a municipality within this area. We find that the spatial repartition of immigrants in Belgium is determined by both network effects and local characteristics. The determinants of local attractiveness vary by nationality, as expected, but for all nationalities, they seem to dominate the impact of network effects. |
| Keywords: | International migration, Location choice, Network effects, Nested logit |
| Date: | 2014–01–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctl:louvir:2014004&r=mig |
| By: | Biavaschi, Costanza (IZA); Giulietti, Corrado (IZA); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | While a growing literature has analyzed the effects of parental migration on the educational outcomes of children left behind, this is the first study to highlight the importance of sibling interactions in such a context. Using panel data from the RUMiC Survey, we find that sibling influence on schooling performance is stronger among left- behind children. Hence, parental migration seems to trigger changes in the roles and effects among children. However, it is primarily older sisters who exhibit a positive influence on their younger siblings. We corroborate our results by performing a series of tests to mitigate endogeneity issues. The results from the analysis suggest that sibling effects in migrant households might be a mechanism to shape children's outcomes and success and that adjustments within the family left behind have the potential to generate benefits – or reduce hardship – in response to parental migration. |
| Keywords: | left behind, siblings, human capital |
| JEL: | O15 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7859&r=mig |
| By: | Bosch, Mariano (Inter-American Development Bank); Farré, Lídia (IAE Barcelona (CSIC)) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between immigration and the size of the informal or underground economy. Using regional variation for the Spanish provinces we find that the massive immigration wave between 2000 and 2009 is highly correlated to the share of unregistered employment, a proxy for the size of the underground or informal labor market. We estimate that a 10 percentage points increase in the share of immigrants in a region generates between a 3 and 8 percentage points increase in unregistered employment. We also find that the controversial regularization of illegal aliens conducted in 2005 substantially reduced the number of illegal workers but did not affect the relationship between immigration and informality. |
| Keywords: | immigration, informal economy, amnesty |
| JEL: | J61 O17 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7843&r=mig |
| By: | Prantl, Susanne (University of Cologne); Spitz-Oener, Alexandra (Humboldt University Berlin) |
| Abstract: | Does interacting product and labor market regulation alter the impact of immigration on wages of competing native workers? Focusing on the large, sudden and unanticipated wave of migration from East to West Germany after German reunification and allowing for endogenous immigration, we compare native wage reactions across different segments of the West German labor market: one segment without product and labor market regulation, to which standard immigration models best apply, one segment in which product and labor market regulation interact, and one segment covering intermediate groups of workers. We find that the wages of competing native West Germans respond negatively to the large influx of similar East German workers in the segment with almost free firm entry into product markets and weak worker influence on the decision-making of firms. Competing native workers are insulated from such pressure if firm entry regulation interacts with labor market institutions, implying a strong influence of workers on the decision-making of profit-making firms. |
| Keywords: | immigration, product market regulation, labor market regulation |
| JEL: | J61 L50 J3 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7882&r=mig |
| By: | Ruist, Joakim (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | When Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 Sweden was one of two EU15 countries that did not restrict access to its labor market and welfare systems for Romanian and Bulgarian citizens. This article evaluates the net fiscal contribution in 2011 of Romanian and Bulgarian migrants who arrived in Sweden under this migration regime in 2007-2010. The average net contribution is found to be substantially positive: around 30,000 kronor, or onesixth of public sector turnover per capita. This result is used to discuss expected corresponding net contributions in other EU15 countries, several of which lifted their restrictions on January 1st, 2014. The United Kingdom and Ireland stand out as two countries that unambiguously have reason to expect even more positive contributions. |
| Keywords: | immigration; welfare benefits; public finances; Romania; Bulgaria; EU |
| JEL: | H20 H50 J61 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0584&r=mig |
| By: | Naghsh Nejad, Maryam (IZA) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of institutionalized gender inequality, proxied by a women's rights index, on the female high-skilled migration rates relative to that of male (the female brain drain ratio). By developing a model of migration choice I find non-linear effects of gender inequality on the female brain drain ratio as a result of effects of gender inequality on both costs and benefits of migration. At low levels of women's rights, increases in the index lead to increases in the female brain drain ratio. This is consistent with, at low levels of women's rights, prohibitively high costs of migration for females. Once a certain level of protections has been afforded to them, the costs to migration are low enough that many women then decide to leave the oppressive society and migrate where the benefits associated with their human capital are higher. However, as women's rights continue to strengthen, those benefits to migration then tend to decrease. The effect on female brain drain then turns negative. Using a panel of up to 195 countries I find evidence consistent with this model which is robust to instrumental variable approach. A one-point increase in the above average level of this index is associated with an average of about a 25-percentage point decrease in the female brain drain ratio. |
| Keywords: | high skilled female migration, women's rights, institutional quality |
| JEL: | F22 J11 J61 J16 O17 O43 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7864&r=mig |
| By: | Constant, Amelie F. (George Washington University, Temple University); Schüller, Simone (IRVAPP); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Ethnic groups tend to agglomerate and assemble, mostly in urban areas. While ethnic clustering is critically debated in societies and the consequences for economic outcomes are under debate in research, the process is not yet well understood. A separate literature has also examined the cultural and ethnic identity of immigrants and how these affect their economic performance and societal integration. However, an unexplored channel connects ethnic clustering with ethnic identity formation. Therefore this paper examines the role of ethnic geographic clustering in the sociocultural integration of immigrants. It employs survey data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, combined with disaggregated information at a low geographical level from the unexploited German full census of 1970 and 1987. We employ the exogenous placement of immigrants during their recruitment in the 1960s and 1970s and find that local co-ethnic concentration affects immigrants' cultural integration. Residential ethnic clustering strengthens immigrants' retention of an affiliation with their respective country of origin and weakens identification with the host society. The effects are nonlinear and only become significant at relatively high levels of co-ethnic concentration for the minority identity and at very low levels of local concentration for the majority identity. Our findings are robust to the use of an instrumental variable approach. |
| Keywords: | ethnic minorities, residential segregation, ethnic identity, spatial dispersion, ethnic enclaves |
| JEL: | J15 R23 Z10 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7868&r=mig |
| By: | Lucia Rizzica (University College of London) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of parental migration on children left behind in order to understand whether and how the effects of migration on children depend on which of their parents migrates. I describe the migration of one of the spouses as a sequential game in which the spouse who migrated chooses how much to send back to the spouse left behind in the form of remittances and then the latter decides how to allocate his total available budget within the household. A similar mechanism generates no difference in the share of total household income devoted to investment on children no matter which of the parents migrates, even when the two spouses have different preferences. These predictions are tested using data from Indonesia, where female migration is particularly widespread. To solve the selection problems entailed in the comparison between households with migrant fathers and households with migrant mothers, I focus on households that have at least one migrant parent and develop a model in which the decision about whether to send the man or the woman eventually depends on the expected returns and risk associated to each of the two choices. These measures will provide me with a set of instrumental variables to test the theoretical model. In accordance with the predictions of the model I find that the difference in children related expenditure is not significant between households in which mothers migrate and households in which fathers do. On the other hand I find that in households with migrant mother a significantly larger share of income is devoted to adult goods consumption; this difference reflects the difference in tastes for investment on children between men and women. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Gender, Human Capital |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:361&r=mig |
| By: | Giovanni Facchini (University of Nottingham, University of Milan, CEPR, CES-Ifo, CrEAM, IZA and); Tommaso Frattini (University of Milan, CrEAM, IZA and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano); Cora Signorotto (University of Milan and Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano) |
| Abstract: | e investigate the role of constituents’ preferences in shaping the voting behavior of elected representatives on immigration and trade policy. Using a novel dataset spanning the period 1986-2004, in which we match individual opinion surveys with congressmen roll call votes, we find that greater exposure to media coverage tends to increase a politician’s accountability when it comes to migration policy making, while we find no effect for trade policy. Our results thus suggest that more information on the behavior of elected officials affects decisions only when the policy issue is perceived to be salient by the electorate. |
| Keywords: | Trade Reforms, Immigration Reforms, Individual preferences, Media exposure |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–10–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csl:devewp:358&r=mig |
| By: | Stoyanova, Alexandrina Petrova; Díaz Serrano, Lluís |
| Abstract: | An increasing body of research has pointed to the relevance of social capital in studying a great variety of socio-economic phenomena, ranging from economics growth and development to educational attainment and public health. Conceptually, our paper is framed within the debates about the possible links between health and social capital, on one hand, and within the hypotheses regarding the importance of social and community networks in all stages of the dynamics of international migration, on the other hand. Our primary objective is to explore the ways social relations contribute to health differences between the immigrants and the native-born population of Spain. We also try to reveal differences in the nature of the social networks of foreign-born, as compared to that of the native-born persons. The empirical analysis is based on an individual-level data coming from the 2006 Spanish Health Survey, which contains a representative sample of the immigrant population. To assess the relationship between various health indicators (self-assessed health, chronic conditions and long-term illness) and social capital, controlling for other covariates, we estimate multilevel models separately for the two population groups of interest. In the estimates we distinguish between individual and community-level social capital. While the Health Survey contains information that allows us to define individual social capital measures, the collective indicators come from other official sources. In particular, for the subsample of immigrants, we proxy community-level networks and relationships by variables contained in the Spanish National Survey of Immigrants 2007. The results obtained so far point to the relevance of social capital as a covariate in the health equation, although, the significance varies according to the specific health indicator used. Additionally, and contrary to what is expected, immigrants’ social networks seem to be inferior to those of the native-born population in many aspects; and they also affect immigrant’s health to a lesser extent. Policy implications of the findings are discussed. Keywords: health status, social capital, immigration, Spain |
| Keywords: | Estatus social, Salut pública, Capital social, Emigració i immigració, Espanya, 338 - Situació econòmica. Política econòmica. Gestió, control i planificació de l'economia. Producció. Serveis. Turisme. Preus, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/222194&r=mig |
| By: | Akgüc, Mehtap (IZA); Giulietti, Corrado (IZA); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | This paper describes the Longitudinal Survey on Rural Urban Migration in China (RUMiC), a unique data source in terms of spatial coverage and panel dimension for research on labor markets in China. The survey is a collaboration project between the Australian National University, Beijing Normal University and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), which makes data publicly available to the scientific community by producing Scientific Use Files. The paper illustrates the structure, sampling frame and tracking method of the survey, and provides an overview of the topics covered by the dataset, and a review of the existing studies based on RUMiC data. |
| Keywords: | household survey, China, migration, labor markets |
| JEL: | C81 J01 P36 R23 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7860&r=mig |
| By: | Diette, Timothy M. (Washington and Lee University); Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth (Georgia Tech) |
| Abstract: | The influx of immigrants has shifted the ethnic composition of public schools in many states including North Carolina. Recent evidence from North Carolina suggests that increases in Limited English students' concentration have led to a slight decline in performance solely for students at the top of the achievement distribution. The heterogeneous peer effects by achievement level lead us to explore in this paper whether the increased immigration has differential effects by gender and race. Utilizing fixed effects methods that allow us to address possible endogeneity with respect to the schools' students attend, we find heterogeneous peer effects of limited English students on natives' performance in math and reading. Specifically, we find no peer effects on white females but small negative effects on males and blacks on average. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, student achievement, peer effects, education, race, gender, limited English students |
| JEL: | I20 I21 J15 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7856&r=mig |
| By: | Ganesh Seshan; Dean Yang |
| Abstract: | We randomly assigned male migrant workers in Qatar invitations to a motivational workshop aimed at improving financial habits and encouraging joint decision-making with spouses back home in India. 13-17 months later, we surveyed migrants and wives to estimate intent-to-treat impacts in their transnational households. Wives of treated migrants changed their financial practices, and became more likely to seek out financial education themselves. Treated migrants and their wives became more likely to make joint decisions on money matters. Treatment effects on financial outcomes show potential heterogeneity, with those with lower prior savings saving differentially more than those with higher prior savings. |
| JEL: | C93 F24 O12 O16 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19805&r=mig |
| By: | Mark R. Rosenzweig; Christopher Udry |
| Abstract: | We look at the effects of rainfall forecasts and realized rainfall on equilibrium agricultural wages over the course of the agricultural production cycle. We show theoretically that a forecast of good weather can lower wages in the planting stage, by lowering ex ante out-migration, and can exacerbate the negative impact of adverse weather on harvest-stage wages. Using Indian household panel data describing early-season migration and district-level planting- and harvest-stage wages over the period 2005-2010, we find results consistent with the model, indicating that rainfall forecasts improve labor allocations on average but exacerbate wage volatility because they are imperfect. |
| JEL: | J2 J31 J43 O1 O13 Q12 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19808&r=mig |
| By: | Rudolph, Alexandra (Heidelberg University); Schneider, Friedrich (University of Linz) |
| Abstract: | Worldwide human trafficking (HT) is the third most often registered international criminal activity, ranked only after drug and weapon trafficking. The aim of the paper is to measure the extent of HT inflows to destination countries. It proposes the application of the Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) structural equation model in order to include potential causes and indicators in one model and generate an index of the intensity of HT in destination countries. Thus, we account for the unobservable nature of the crime as well as for visible aspects that both shape the extent of it. By including both dimensions of the trafficking process the model is applied over a period of ten years. The resulting measure orders 142 countries between 2000 and 2010 according to their potential of being a destination country based on characteristics of the trafficking process. The results are that OECD countries are the most likely destination countries while developing countries are less likely. |
| Keywords: | human trafficking, MIMIC models, latent variable, structural equation models |
| JEL: | C39 F22 K42 K49 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7867&r=mig |
| By: | Richard B. Freeman; Ina Ganguli; Raviv Murciano-Goroff |
| Abstract: | This paper examines international and domestic collaborations using data from an original survey of corresponding authors and Web of Science data of articles with a US coauthor in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology, and Particle and Field Physics. The data allows us to investigate the connections among coauthors and the views of corresponding authors about the collaboration. We have four main findings. First, we find that US collaborations have increased across US cities as well as across international borders, with the nature of collaborations across cities resembling that across countries. Second, face-to-face meetings are important in collaborations: most collaborators first met working in the same institution and communicate often through meetings coauthors from distant location. Third, the main reason for most collaborations are to combine the specialized knowledge and skills of coauthors, with however, substantial differences in the mode of collaborations between small lab-based science and big science, where international collaborations are more prevalent. Fourth, we find that citation rates are higher in international collaborations than in domestic collaborations in biotech but not in the other two fields. Moreover, in all three fields, papers with the same number of coauthors had lower citations if they were international collaborations. Overall, our findings suggest that all collaborations are best viewed from a framework of collaborations across space broadly, rather than in terms of international as opposed to domestic collaborative activity. |
| JEL: | J01 J2 J24 J4 J44 J61 J68 O31 O32 O33 |
| Date: | 2014–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19819&r=mig |