|
on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Pengyu Zhu; Cathy Yang Liu; Gary Painter |
| Abstract: | Research on how the residential segregation of immigrant populations has impacted their labor market outcomes presents many challenges because of the fact that immigrants often choose to locate near co-ethnics to share re sources and cultural amenities. Because not all immigrants choose to live in these ethnic communities, identification of a causal effect on living in an ethnic community is difficult. The estimation of an effect of living in these ethnic communities is also difficult because it is ambiguous whether such residence will help or harm the labor market outcomes of immigrants. This study implements a number of approaches to help identify a causal effect, including using sample of adults whose residential location is plausibly exogenous with respect to their labor market outcomes and using the current recession as a source of exogenous variation. Results suggest that residence in an ethnic community after the recession increases the likelihood of working, albeit with longer commutes. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luk:wpaper:8959&r=mig |
| By: | Kidd, Michael (Queensland University of Technology); O'Leary, Nigel C. (Swansea University); Sloane, Peter J. (Swansea University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses HESA data from the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey 2003/04 to examine whether more mobile students in terms of choice of institution and location of employment earn more than those who are less mobile. The clear finding is that mobility is associated with superior earnings outcomes, but principally through mobility as it relates to students extending their horizon of job search. A bivariate probit analysis also confirms that there is a positive relationship between regional mobility both in the choice of attending university and the choice of where to take up employment. |
| Keywords: | location by residence, academic institution and employment, graduates, earnings |
| JEL: | J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8325&r=mig |
| By: | Ivan Werning (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Emmanuel Farhi (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of labor mobility within a currency union suffering from nominal rigidities. When the demand shortfall in depressed region is mostly internal, migration may not help regional macroeconomic adjustment. When external demand is also at the root of the problem, migration out of depressed regions may produce a positive spillover for stayers. We consider a planning problem and compare its solution to the equilibrium. We find that the equilibrium is generally constrained inefficient, although the welfare losses may be small if the economy suffers mainly from internal demand imbalances. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed014:75&r=mig |
| By: | Menusch Khadjavi; Jasper D. Tjaden |
| Abstract: | Many Western countries face the challenge of reconciling future labor demand with growing public opposition to immigration. The dynamics and underlying processes of setting immigration requirements remain unclear as research so far mainly focuses on context-specific empirical studies. We use a public good game experiment with endogenous groups to investigate how different levels of perceived migrant potential and public debate shape immigration requirements. We employ the minimal group paradigm and immigration requirements are set by in-group voting. Our results suggest that fairness and efficiency of immigration requirements may best be described by the relationship between average population indicators and required contributions of immigrants. Public debate appears to foster fair and efficient requirements if perceived migrant potential is high |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Public Good, Endogenous Groups, Experiment |
| JEL: | C91 C92 H41 O15 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1939&r=mig |
| By: | Hinte, Holger (IZA); Zimmermann, Klaus F. (IZA and University of Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Calculating the net fiscal effects of immigration not just for a fiscal year but over the lifespan of immigrant cohorts accentuates the assets and deficits in migration and integration policies and their long-term potential. The less national policies concentrate on a labor migrant selection process according to economic criteria, the higher the risk of generating economic losses or only a reduced surplus. A country comparison of net tax payments and generational accounts for migrants and natives reveals even more clearly that the right mix of migrants will give the best chance to maximize positive and sustainable net fiscal effects to the benefit of society. Similar socio-economic frameworks – as in the western welfare states of Denmark and Germany showcased in this paper – may still result in substantially different economic outcomes of migration. Traditional immigration countries with a long experience in selecting migrants are nonetheless confronted with the need to evaluate and adapt their policies. They may also learn from the results of net fiscal balancing. |
| Keywords: | socio-economic effects of migration, generational accounting, immigrant selection, integration |
| JEL: | F22 J61 E61 E62 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izapps:pp87&r=mig |
| By: | Nahm, Daehoon (Macquarie University, Sydney); Tani, Massimiliano (IZA) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies whether skilled migrants contribute to the host country's 'productive efficiency' (Farrell, 1957) using input-output and immigration sectoral data for seven industries in twelve countries during the period 1999-2001. We find that skilled migrants contribute positively to a country's productive efficiency with the exception of the finance sector. The results broadly support the adoption of skill-biased migration policies. |
| Keywords: | highly skilled migration, human capital, productive efficiency |
| JEL: | D24 F2 J6 J24 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8326&r=mig |
| By: | Del Boca, Daniela (University of Turin); Venturini, Alessandra (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | Our research analyzes the effect of changes in migration policies and the accession to the European Union of former countries of emigration, considering the crucial role played by migrants in an aging society. We focus on the demand of family-care workers by using the last five years of the Italian Labour Force Survey dataset. Our results show that especially during the last years of recession, foreign labor (mostly female) has become fundamental in the family sector, favoring the participation of Italian skilled women in the labor market. |
| Keywords: | migration, aging, women's work |
| JEL: | J6 J15 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8328&r=mig |
| By: | Ira N. Gang (Rutgers University) |
| Abstract: | Women who want to work often face many more hurdles than men. This is true in Tajikistan where there is a large gender gap in labour force participation. We highlight the role of two factors – international migration and education – on the labour force participation decision and its gender gap. Using probit and decomposition analysis, our investigation shows that education and migration have a significant association with the gender gap in labour force participation in Tajikistan. International emigration from Tajikistan, in which approximately 93.5% of the participants are men, reduces labour force participation by men domestically; increased female education, especially at the university and vocational level, increases female participation. Both women acquiring greater access to education and men increasing their migration abroad contribute to reducing the gender gap. |
| Keywords: | immigration |
| JEL: | F1 |
| Date: | 2014–05–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rut:rutres:201407&r=mig |
| By: | Zavodny, Madeline (Agnes Scott College) |
| Abstract: | In the debate over immigration reform, it is frequently asserted that immigrants take jobs that U.S. natives do not want. Using data from the 2000 Census merged with O*NET data on occupation characteristics, I show that the jobs held by immigrants are more physically arduous than the jobs held by U.S. natives. However, data from the California Work and Health Survey on self-reported physical job demands indicate that immigrants do not perceive their jobs as requiring more physical effort than U.S. natives. Immigrants thus have worse jobs than natives but do not view them as such. |
| Keywords: | immigrants, working conditions, compensating differentials |
| JEL: | J81 J15 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8327&r=mig |
| By: | Chris SAKELLARIOU (Division of Economics, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637332.); Fang ZHENG (Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a new dataset, the 2009 Rural Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) to estimate returns to schooling in China using an instrumental variable (IV) methodology. After identifying a set of instruments, we conduct comprehensive validity and relevance testing of different combinations of instruments as well as robustness analysis of our estimates for rural to urban migrants and urban residents in China. We find that our estimates are in a fairly tight band for all four sub-samples examined (urban men, urban women, migrant men and migrant women). Estimates for men range from about 9.5% for urban workers to about 10-10.5% for migrant workers and are slightly higher than the corresponding estimates for women, which range from 7.5% for female urban workers to 8-9.5% for female migrant workers. Thus, private returns to education in urban China in 2009 were substantial and of similar magnitude to those for other transition countries, as well as to worldwide and developing country averages. We also find that the attenuation bias due to measurement error is generally large and more important in the migrant sample compared to the urban sample. |
| Keywords: | Returns to Schooling, Instrumental Variables, Rural-to-Urban Migrants, China |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nan:wpaper:1407&r=mig |
| By: | Mountford, Andrew (Royal Holloway, University of London); Rapoport, Hillel (Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | According to recent UN projections more than 50 percent of the growth in world population over the next half century will be due to population growth in Africa. Given this, any policy that influences African demography will have a significant impact on the world distribution of income. In this paper we discuss the potential for migration policies to affect fertility and education decisions, and hence, population growth in Africa. We present the results from different scenarios for more or less restrictive/selective migration policies and derive their implications for the evolution of world inequality. |
| Keywords: | global inequality, migration, fertility, Africa |
| JEL: | O40 F11 F43 |
| Date: | 2014–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8329&r=mig |
| By: | Boldrin, Michele; Montes, Ana |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we model an overlapping generation economy affected by an unexpected immigration shock and determine how households would insure themselves against "immigration risks" efficiently. We use the model to study the impact of immigration on (i) the welfare of various generations, (ii) the distributions of income among factors of production, and (iii) the optimal design of the intergenerational welfare state. In particular, we construct a system of public education and public pensions that mimics efficient complete market allocation. We also show the impact of immigration shocks in a small open economy. In this case, our model suggests that the external capital flows can act as substitutes for the missing private insurance markets. Our analysis delivers a set of predictions that we find useful for understanding certain aspects of the Spanish experience during 1996 and 2007. |
| Keywords: | social security, human capital, overlapping generations, immigration, trade deficit, risk sharing |
| JEL: | F22 H53 H55 |
| Date: | 2013–07–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56765&r=mig |
| By: | Borjas, George J. |
| Abstract: | The theory of factor demand has important implications for the study of the impact of immigration on wages. This paper derives the theoretical implications in the context of a general equilibrium model where the wage impact depends on the elasticity of product demand, the rate at which the consumer base expands as immigrants enter the receiving country, the elasticity of supply of capital, and the elasticity of substitution among inputs of production. The constraints imposed by the theory can be used to check the plausibility of the many contradictory claims that appear throughout the immigration literature. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hrv:hksfac:11744469&r=mig |
| By: | Jellal, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we consider a two-period model of migration and remittances as implicit contract in a context of asymmetric information. Our model offers new theoretical findings with respect to the previous literature on the main determinants of remittances. According to self-interest thesis, migrants make transfers in order to insure themselves against the risk of migration return. The low-skilled migrants are more likely to return to home country when informational symmetry is restored, then among others things, their optimal transfers is a decreasing function of the migrant's skill level and increasing function of the family’s wealth level |
| Keywords: | Diaspora, Education, Transfers, Incomplete Information, Implicit Contrat |
| JEL: | D82 D86 F22 F24 I25 |
| Date: | 2014–07–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:57387&r=mig |
| By: | Jellal, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that social interactions can induce families of migrants to care about hierarchical social status because it serves as a signal device of non-observable income. Hence , a concern for social status induces theses families to engage in conspicuous consumption in order to signal their relative wealth. Consequently, the model shows a positive correlation between disposable income and consumption of the positional good . As a corollary, families who receive large remittances tendto invest more in the signaling game of wealth. |
| Keywords: | Diaspora, Remittances, Status Seeking, Conspicuous Consumption, Signaling game |
| JEL: | A13 D03 D1 D11 D64 F22 F24 Z1 |
| Date: | 2014–07–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:57356&r=mig |
| By: | Jellal, Mohamed |
| Abstract: | Remittances by migrants to their countries of origin constitute the largest source of external finance for developing countries after foreign direct investment . To shed light on this important fact, in this paper we consider a model of micro-foundations of the links between remittances finance and endogenous growth. Our theoretical set up helps to show how local financial system development and the quality of institutions influence a country’s capacity to take advantage of remittances. Among others new findings , we show that remittances foster economic growth in countries with less developed financial sector by providing a substitute tool to finance investment and contribute to overcome liquidity constraints and help undertake profitable investment. |
| Keywords: | Diaspora, Remittances, Financial Development, Institutions, Endogenous Growth, Micro-economic of Development |
| JEL: | F21 F24 F43 O12 O16 |
| Date: | 2014–07–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:57410&r=mig |