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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Javier Ortega (City University London - City University London); Gregory Verdugo (OFCE - OFCE - Sciences Po, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We characterise how the assimilation patterns of minorities into the strong and the weak language differ in a situation of asymmetric bilingualism. Using large variations in language composition in Canadian cities from the 2001 and 2006 Censuses, we show that the differences in the knowledge of English by immigrant allophones (i.e. the immigrants with a mother tongue other than English and French) in English-majority cities are mainly due to sorting across cities. Instead, in French-majority cities, learning plays an important role in explaining differences in knowledge of French. In addition, the presence of large anglophone minorities deters much more the assimilation into French than the presence of francophone minorities deters the assimilation into English. Finally, we find that language distance plays a much more important role in explaining assimilation into French, and that assimilation into French is much more sensitive to individual characteristics than assimilation into English. Some of these asymmetric assimilation patterns extend to anglophone and francophone immigrants, but no evidence of learning is found in this case. |
| Keywords: | minorities,immigration,assimilation,language policies |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-01296745&r=mig |
| By: | Carneiro, Pedro (University College London); Lee, Sokbae (Seoul National University); Reis, Hugo (Banco de Portugal) |
| Abstract: | The vast majority of immigrants to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century adopted first names that were common among natives. The rate of adoption of an American name increases with time in the US, although most immigrants adopt an American name within the first year of arrival. Choice of an American first name was associated with a more successful assimilation, as measured by job occupation scores, marriage to a US native and take-up of US citizenship. We examine economic determinants of name choice, by studying the relationship between changes in the proportion of immigrants with an American first name and changes in the concentration of immigrants as well as changes in local labor market conditions, across different census years. We find that high concentrations of immigrants of a given nationality in a particular location discouraged members of that nationality from taking American names. Poor local labor market conditions for immigrants (and good local labor market conditions for natives) led to more frequent name changes among immigrants. |
| Keywords: | Americanization, culture, first name, identity, immigration |
| JEL: | J15 N32 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9792&r=mig |
| By: | Idrissa Diabata (INSTAT, Mali); Sandrine Mesplé-Somps (IRD) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate how powerful a mechanism migration is in the transmission of social norms, taking Mali and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as a case study. Mali has a strong FGM culture and a long-standing history of migration. We use an original household-level database coupled with census data to analyze the extent to which girls living in villages with high rates of return migrants are less prone to FGM. Malians migrate predominantly to other African countries where female circumcision is uncommon (e.g. Côte d’Ivoire) and to countries where FGM is totally banned (France and other developed countries) and where anti-FGM information campaigns frequently target African migrants. Taking a two-step instrumental variable approach to control for the endogeneity of migration decisions, we show that return migrants have a negative and significant influence on FGM. We also show that adults living in villages with return migrants are more in favor of legislation against FGM. |
| Keywords: | Mali |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:cmgdev:1501e&r=mig |
| By: | Mari Carmen Pérez Artés (Universidad de Almería) |
| Abstract: | From 1888 until 1920 Almería threw out 22% of its population. It becomes the province with the largest gross rate of emigration of Spain. The paper analyzes this phenomenon with the objective to contribute to the literature on external and internal migrations in Spain. The source used are population censuses and 1888’s corrections census of Almeria, source not studied until today. We have obtained a database of 5,297 migrants. The source allows us to analyze the profile of migrant and family groups, social, economic, political and physical factors and the role of networks migration. We present a new empirical evidence, causes and characteristics of migration in late 19th century in Spain. |
| Keywords: | Migrations, 19th Century, Almería. |
| JEL: | N0 N3 N5 N7 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ahe:dtaehe:1606&r=mig |
| By: | Jason Long; Henry E. Siu |
| Abstract: | We construct longitudinal data from the U.S. Census records to study migration patterns of those affected by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Our focus is on the famous "Okie" migration of the Southern Great Plains. We find that migration rates were much higher in the Dust Bowl than elsewhere in the U.S. This difference is due to the fact that individuals who were typically unlikely to move (e.g., those with young children, those living in their birth state) were equally likely to move in the Dust Bowl. While this result of elevated mobility conforms to long-standing perceptions of the Dust Bowl, our other principal findings contradict conventional wisdom. First, relative to other occupations, farmers in the Dust Bowl were the least likely to move; this relationship between mobility and occupation was unique to that region. Second, out-migration rates from the Dust Bowl region were only slightly higher than they were in the 1920s. Hence, the depopulation of the Dust Bowl was due largely to a sharp drop in migration inflows. Dust Bowl migrants were no more likely to move to California than migrants from other parts of the U.S., or those from the same region ten years prior. In this sense, the westward push from the Dust Bowl to California was unexceptional. Finally, migration from the Dust Bowl was not associated with long-lasting negative labor market effects, and for farmers, the effects were positive. |
| JEL: | J61 J62 N12 N32 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22108&r=mig |
| By: | Jean-Louis Pan Ké Shon (LSQ - Laboratoire de sociologie quantitative - Centre de Recherche en Économie et STatistique (CREST)); Gregory Verdugo (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, OFCE - OFCE - Sciences Po) |
| Abstract: | Analysing restricted access census data, this paper examines the long-term trends of immigrant segregation in France from 1968 to 2007. Similar to other European countries, France experienced a rise in the proportion of immigrants in its population that was characterised by a new predominance of non-European immigration. Despite this, average segregation levels remained moderate. While the number of immigrant enclaves increased, particularly during the 2000s, the average concentration for most groups decreased because of a reduction of heavily concentrated census tracts and census tracts with few immigrants. Contradicting frequent assertions, neither mono-ethnic census tract nor ghettoes exist in France. By contrast, many immigrants live in census tracts characterised by a low proportion of immigrants from their own group and from all origins. A long residential period in France is correlated with lower concentrations and proportion of immigrants in the census tract for most groups, though these effects are sometimes modest. 1 The authors accessed the Census data via the Centre d'accès sécurisé distant (CASD), dedicated to the use of authorized researchers, following the approval of the Comité français du secret statistique. This research was partially supported by a French State grant ANR-10-EQPX-17 (Centre d'accès sécurisé aux données-CASD). We thank three anonymous referees for insightful comments. Jean-Louis Pan Ké Shon would also like to thank Loïc Wacquant for his comments during discussions in the early stage of this project. This paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the Banque de France. |
| Keywords: | France,Segregation,Immigration |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-01296756&r=mig |
| By: | Yana Kucheva; Richard Sander |
| Abstract: | In this project, we examine the mobility choices of black households between 1960 and 2000. We use household-level Decennial Census data geocoded down to the census tract level. Our results indicate that, for black households, one’s status as an intermetropolitan migrant – especially from an urban area outside the South – is a powerful predictor of pioneering into a white neighborhood. Moreover, and perhaps even more importantly, the ratio of these intermetropolitan black arrivals to the incumbent metropolitan black population is a powerful predictor of whether a metropolitan area experiences substantial declines in housing segregation. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:16-23&r=mig |
| By: | Hua, Yue |
| Abstract: | Using rural household survey data from northwestern China, this study examines the decision between internal migration and home production for rural households and its impact on rural income distribution. By constructing counterfactual scenarios under which households are allowed to switch freely between internal migration and home production, this study finds that the migrant households in the studied region could have earned more had they choose not to migrate and work in local sectors, given the results that show remittances earned by the migrant households are less than their simulated home production earnings. The findings also illustrate that there would also be less income inequality in this area if migrants choose to work locally. These results are compatible with the fact that the internal migration in the study area is very likely to be involuntary, primarily due to the lack of arable land and insufficient local nonfarm job opportunities, usually provided by township and village enterprises |
| Keywords: | Internal Migration, Home Production, Remittances, Income Inequality |
| JEL: | O15 O18 P25 |
| Date: | 2014–07–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:61604&r=mig |
| By: | Dustmann, Christian; Fasani, Francesco; Speciale, Biagio |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effect of immigrants' legal status on their consumption behavior using unique survey data that samples both documented and undocumented immigrants. To address the problem of sorting into legal status, we propose two alternative identification strategies as exogenous source of variation for current legal status: First, transitory income shocks in the home country, measured as rainfall shocks at the time of emigration. Second, amnesty quotas that grant legal residence status to undocumented immigrants. Both sources of variation create a strong first stage, and - although very different in nature- lead to similar estimates of the effects of illegal status on consumption, with undocumented immigrants consuming about 40% less than documented immigrants, conditional on background characteristics. Roughly one quarter of this decrease is explained by undocumented immigrants having lower incomes than documented immigrants. Our findings imply that legalization programs may have a potentially important effect on immigrants' consumption behavior, with consequences for both the source and host countries. |
| Keywords: | consumption behavior; legal status; weather shocks |
| JEL: | D12 F22 K42 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11186&r=mig |
| By: | Kaivan Munshi; Mark Rosenzweig; ; |
| Abstract: | We provide an explanation for the large spatial wage disparities and low male migration in India based on the trade-off between consumption-smoothing, provided bycaste-based rural insurance networks, and the income-gains from migration. Our theory generates two key empirically-verified predictions: (i) males in relatively wealthy households within a caste who benefit less from the redistributive (surplus-maximizing)network will be more likely to migrate, and (ii) males in households facing greater rural income-risk (who benefit more from the insurance network) migrate less. Structural estimates show that small improvements in formal insurance decrease the spatial misallocation of labor by substantially increasing migration. |
| Date: | 2015–10–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1562&r=mig |
| By: | Piras, Romano |
| Abstract: | Sintesi. Vengono presentati gli ultimi dati disponibili relativi ai flussi migratori dei laureati tra le regioni italiane per gli anni 2000-2013 e si discutono quelli riferiti ai flussi migratori verso l’estero nel periodo 2004-2013. Dall’analisi emergono due elementi preoccupanti, da un lato la situazione drammatica per il Mezzogiorno in relazione al drenaggio di capitale umano rappresentato dai laureati verso il Centro-Nord e verso l’estero, dall’altro la perdita di laureati per le regioni del Centro-Nord determinata dall’emigrazione internazionale. Abstract. We present the latest available data on migration flows of graduates across Italian regions for the years 2000-2013 and the figures relating to international migration flows during the period 2004-2013. The analysis reveals two worrying data: on the one hand the dramatic situation for the South in relation to the drainage of human capital represented by graduates to both Centre-Northern regions of Italy and abroad, on the other the loss of graduates for the Centre-Northern regions determined by international emigration. |
| Keywords: | Mezzogiorno, migration flows, brain drain. |
| JEL: | F22 J24 |
| Date: | 2016–02–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:70391&r=mig |