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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Barslund, Mikkel; Di Bartolomeo, Anna; Ludolph, Lars |
| Abstract: | The integration of refugees and migrants in general into the labour market – and into society at large –stands at the forefront of current policy debate. And rightly so: better integration enriches not only the migrant, but also the host country’s population and its public finances. A number of recent noteworthy publications have therefore studied the labour market integration process and how to improve it. While the diverse background of new arrivals is often acknowledged in these studies, on-the-ground labour market integration programmes too often follow a one-size-fits-all approach. In this Policy Insights study, we argue that there is a particularly strong case for labour market integration measures specifically geared towards female migrants. The primary reason is the traditionally low female labour market participation in the majority of source countries, which translates into a large excess gender gap in labour market integration among non-EU migrants in Europe. This gap is further mirrored by other important aspects of societal integration. We argue that this lack of labour market integration inhibits wider societal integration of female migrants. Hence, integration efforts need to more explicitly take the gender dimension into account and further analyse the determinants of the gender gap in integration. A mapping of successful initiatives targeting migrant women, as has been done in recent best-practice guidelines, is therefore essential. However, these studies mainly stress that the number of targeted measures is currently insufficient. |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:cepswp:12262&r=mig |
| By: | Marina De Angelis; Marcella Corsi; Daniele Frigeri |
| Abstract: | This research aims to contribute to the literature on migrants’ entrepreneurship by investigating the determinants of self-employment for migrants in Italy. The analysis is carried out using a data set by the National Observatory for the Financial Inclusion of Migrants in Italy, developed and managed by the Centre of International Political Studies (CeSPI).Controlling for the macroeconomic context and for the migration plan, we find out that the main determinants of migrant entrepreneurship in Italy are related to migrants’ nationality, length of stay, ownership of a current account, gender, proximity of partner, and education. Moreover, our data show that, despite the aftermath of the crisis, the decision of starting a business is for men a matter of opportunity and not of necessity, and that being married increases the negative effect of being a woman on the probability of being an entrepreneur. Furthermore, data shows that the causal relation between risk taking and being an entrepreneur holds true for migrant entrepreneurs in Italy and that the difficulties faced in having qualifications and competences recognised push migrants into self-entrepreneurship. |
| Keywords: | Migration; Entrepreneurship,; Development; Remittances |
| JEL: | J60 L26 O15 F22 |
| Date: | 2017–11–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/261361&r=mig |
| By: | Catia Batista; Julia Seither; Pedro C. Vicente |
| Abstract: | What is the role of international migrants and, more specifically, of migrant networks in shaping the quality of political institutions in migrant sending countries? Our theory proposes that migration might change individual social identities and in this way intrinsic motivation for political participation, while it may also improve knowledge about better quality political institutions. Hence, international migration might increase political awareness and participation both by migrants and by other individuals in their networks. To test this hypothesis, this paper uses several survey and behavioral measures related to political participation and electoral knowledge. These data were purposely collected around the time of the 2009 elections in Mozambique. The empirical results show that the number of migrants an individual is in close contact through regular chatting within a village significantly increase political participation of residents in that village – more so than family links to migrants. Our findings are consistent with both improved knowledge about political processes, and increased intrinsic motivation for political participation being transmitted through migrant networks. JEL codes: D72, F22, O15 |
| Keywords: | International migration, social networks, political participation, information, effects of emigration in origin countries, sub-Saharan Africa, Mozambique |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unl:novafr:wp1701&r=mig |
| By: | Bryan Stuart (George Washington University); Evan Taylor (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effects of birth town migration networks on location decisions. We study over one million long-run location decisions made during two landmark migration episodes by African Americans from the U.S. South and whites from the Great Plains. We develop a new method to estimate the strength of migration networks for each receiving and sending location. Our estimates imply that when one randomly chosen African American moves from a birth town to a destination county, then 1.9 additional black migrants make the same move on average. For white migrants from the Great Plains, the average is only 0.4. Networks were particularly important in connecting black migrants with attractive employment opportunities and played a larger role in less costly moves. |
| Keywords: | migration networks, location decisions, social interactions, Great Migration |
| JEL: | J61 N32 O15 R23 Z13 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2017-26&r=mig |
| By: | Walter Steingress |
| Abstract: | Immigrants can increase international trade by shifting preferences towards the goods of their country of origin and by reducing bilateral transaction costs. Using geographical variation across U.S. states for the period 2008 to 2013, I estimate the respective causal impact of immigrants on U.S. exports and imports. I address endogeneity and reverse causality by exploiting the exogenous allocation of political refugees within the U.S. refugee resettlement program that prevents immigrants from choosing the destination location. I find that a 10 percent increase in recent immigrants to a U.S. state raises imports from those immigrants’ country of origin by 1.2 percent and exports by 0.8 percent. |
| Keywords: | International topics, Regional economic developments |
| JEL: | F14 F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bca:bocawp:17-49&r=mig |
| By: | Osea Giuntella (University of Pittsburgh, IZA); Catia Nicodemo (University of Oxford, CHSEO, IZA); Carlos Vargas Silva (University of Oxford, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS)) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effects of immigration on waiting times for the National Health Service (NHS) in England. Linking administrative records from Hospital Episode Statistics (2003-2012) with immigration data drawn from the UK Labour Force Survey, we find that immigration reduced waiting times for outpatient referrals and did not have significant effects on waiting times in accident and emergency departments (A&E) and elective care. The reduction in outpatient waiting times can be explained by the fact that immigration increases natives’ internal mobility and that immigrants tend to be healthier than natives who move to different areas. Conversely, we observe higher outpatient waiting times in places to which native internal migrants have moved. Finally, we find evidence that immigration increased waiting times for outpatient referrals in more deprived areas outside of London. The increase in average waiting times in more deprived areas is concentrated in the years immediately following the 2004 EU enlargement and disappears in the medium term (e.g., 3 to 4 years). |
| Keywords: | Immigration, waiting times, NHS, access to health care, welfare |
| JEL: | J61 I10 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:xrp:wpaper:xreap2017-13&r=mig |
| By: | Frédéric Docquier (FNRS & IRES, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium; FERDI, France); Aysıt Tansel (Department of Economics, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) Bonn, Germany; Economic Research Forum (ERF) Cairo, Egypt); Riccardo Turati (IRES, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium) |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically investigates whether emigrants from MENA countries self-select on cultural traits such as religiosity and gender-egalitarian attitudes.To do so, we use Gallup World Poll data on individual opinions and beliefs, migration aspirations,short-run migration plans, and preferred destination choices. We find that individuals who intend to emigrate to OECD, high-income countries exhibit significantly lower levels of religiosity than the rest of the population.They also share more gender-egalitarian views, although the effect only holds among the young (aged 15 to 30), among single women, and in countries with a Sunni minority. For countries mostly affected by Arab Spring, since 2011 the degree of cultural selection has decreased. Nevertheless,the aggregate effects of cultural selection should not be overestimated. Overall, self-selection along cultural traits has limited (albeit non negligible) effects on the average characteristics of the population left behind, and on the cultural distance between natives and immigrants in the OECD countries. |
| Keywords: | International migration, self-selection, cultural traits, gender-egalitarian attitudes, religiosity, MENA region. |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J61 Z10 |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:met:wpaper:1713&r=mig |
| By: | Liwiński, Jacek |
| Abstract: | Purpose: This paper tries to identify the impact of international student mobility on the first wages of tertiary education graduates in Poland. Design/methodology/approach: The author uses data from the nationwide tracer survey of Polish graduates (Graduate Tracer Study 2007) and regresses the hourly net wage rate in the first job after graduating from a higher education institution (HEI) on a rich set of individuals' characteristics. In order to reduce the bias due to selection to international student mobility the author includes a set of variables representing abilities and skills, characteristics of studies and international experience as control variables. The author addresses the possible selection to employment bias by using the Heckman correction with various exclusion restrictions. Findings: After controlling for observed heterogenity the author finds that Polish graduates who studied abroad for at least one month earn on average 18% more on their first job than those who studied in Poland only. However, the author also finds that this wage premium is partly explained by international economic migration after graduation. Studying abroad brings a wage premium only if it is followed by working abroad. Those who perform their first job in Poland do not obtain any wage premium from international student mobility. Originality/value: The main contribution of the paper is that it identifies international economic migration after graduation as another mechanism explaining why those, who studied abroad, earn more. |
| Keywords: | international student mobility,wages,wage premium,Heckman correction |
| JEL: | I29 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:150&r=mig |
| By: | Stefan C. Wolter (University of Bern, CESifo, IZA); Maria Zumbuehl (University of Bern) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we follow the students that took the PISA 2012 test in Switzerland and analyze their transition into and progress in upper-secondary education. We observe a substantive difference in the rate of progress between natives and students with a migration background. One year after leaving compulsory school, the gap between the natives and migrants that are on-track - entering the second year of upper-secondary education - is 15 percentage points. Observable differences in cognitive and non-cognitive skills can explain the gap in the success rate within upper-secondary education, but cannot fully explain the difference in the transition rate into upper-secondary education. More refined analyses present results that are consistent with the hypotheses of differences in tastes, aspirations and incomplete or inaccurate information about the education system explaining the gap in the transition into post-compulsory education. |
| Keywords: | education, migration, occupational choice |
| JEL: | I24 J15 J24 J62 J71 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:educat:0139&r=mig |
| By: | Zhou, Mi. |
| Abstract: | This working paper identifies the good practices applied by those private employment agencies that adopt fair recruitment principles for prospective migrant workers. It also describes the challenges that such recruiters face, including the bottlenecks and gaps in the legislative and regulatory frameworks that stand in the way of agencies committed to fair principles. The paper considers the commercial and practical challenges that confront fair labour recruiters, and identifies opportunities to help them to thrive in a highly competitive market. It examines how fair recruitment practices can be promoted in areas such as Mindanao, where deceptive and abusive recruitment practices are currently most prevalent. Finally, it identifies specific migration corridors in which fair recruitment practices could become the norm. |
| Keywords: | descriptor 1, descriptor 2, descriptor 3, descriptor 4 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:994969689902676&r=mig |
| By: | Schoellman, Todd (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis); Hendricks, Lutz (University of North Carolina) |
| Abstract: | We use new data on the pre- and post-migration wages of U.S. immigrants to measure the importance of human capital for development accounting. Wages increase at migration, but by less than half of the gap in GDP per worker. This finding implies that human capital accounts for a large share of cross-country income differences. Wage gains decline with education, consistent with imperfect substitution between skill types. We bound the human capital share in development accounting to between one-half and two-thirds; additional assumptions lead to an estimate of 60 percent. We also provide results on the importance of assimilation and skill transfer. |
| Keywords: | Human capital; Total factor productivity; Cross-country income differences; Immigration; Skill substitution |
| JEL: | J31 O11 |
| Date: | 2017–08–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedmoi:0001&r=mig |
| By: | Lanati, Marco; Venturini, Alessandra (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | The paper examines the effect of the import of cultural goods as defined by UNESCO (2009): cultural heritage, performance, visual arts, books, audio-visual material and design on emigration decisions. The import of cultural goods, by affecting individual preferences, reduces the cost of any migration move and favors outflows towards exporting countries. A gravity model for 33 OECD destination countries and 184 sending ones has been estimated for the period 2009-2013. The issue of identification and endogeneity has been addressed through the inclusion of a comprehensive set of fixed effects and by instrumenting cultural imports with past flows and an imputed share of cultural imports à la Card (2001). The positive relationship is robust across different classifications for cultural goods, areas of destination and alternative econometric techniques. |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:dipeco:201730&r=mig |
| By: | Osea Giuntella (University of Pittsburgh, IZA); Fabrizio Mazzonna (Universita’ della Svizzera Italiana, MEA); Catia Nicodemo (University of Oxford, CHSEO, IZA); Carlos Vargas Silva (University of Oxford, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS)) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effects of immigration on the allocation of occupational physical burden and work injury risks. Using data for England and Wales from the Labour Force Survey (2003-2013), we find that, on average, immigration leads to a reallocation of UK-born workers towards jobs characterized by lower physical burden and injury risk. The results also show important differences across skill groups. Immigration reduces the average physical burden of UK-born workers with medium levels of education, but has no significant effect on those with low levels. These findings, together with the evidence that immigrants report lower injury rates than natives, suggest that the reallocation of tasks could reduce overall health care costs and the human and financial costs typically associated with workplace injuries. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, labor-market, physical burden, work-related injuries, health |
| JEL: | J61 I10 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:xrp:wpaper:xreap2017-12&r=mig |