nep-mig New Economics Papers
on Economics of Human Migration
Issue of 2022‒06‒27
seven papers chosen by
Yuji Tamura
La Trobe University

  1. Diaspora Economics By Fang, Tony; Wells, Alex
  2. Understanding recent patterns in intergenerational social mobility: differences by gender, ethnicity, education, and their intersections By Lindsey Macmillan; Abigail McKnight
  3. Population Adjustment to Asymmetric Labour Market Shocks in India - A Comparison to Europe and the United States at Two Different Regional Levels By Braschke, Franziska; Puhani, Patrick
  4. Making EU-Turkey cooperation on migration sustainable: A greater focus on the Turkish host society is required By Adar, Sinem; Püttmann, Friedrich
  5. The Crime Effect of Refugees By Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude; Mocan, Naci; Tumen, Semih; Turan, Belgi
  6. Hosting to skim: organized crime and the reception of asylum seekers in Italy By Luca, Davide; Proietti, Paola
  7. The Fertility Effect of Laws Granting Undocumented Migrants Access to Driving Licenses in the United States By Gunadi, Christian

  1. By: Fang, Tony (Memorial University of Newfoundland); Wells, Alex (Memorial University of Newfoundland)
    Abstract: Diasporas are global communities of migrants who retain a sense of connection with their homeland. The concept is ancient but has only recently become an important area of research in economics. Due to their unique transnational characteristics, diasporas can have significant influence over economic exchange in several ways. In this chapter, these economic implications are explored alongside the political involvement of diasporas. It is found that modern technological advancements in communication and transportation are emphasizing the importance of global connections, leading to diaspora populations gaining increased importance in areas such as international trade, foreign policy, and economic development. For many countries, remittances from their diaspora abroad are a key source of capital for development. Global talent mobility is also examined, including its impacts on brain drain, and the competing, more recently explored phenomenon of brain gain. There is evidence showing that members of diasporas are critical to the formation of international entrepreneurial and commercial networks, owing to their ability to help overcome linguistic or cultural barriers. Governments that are best able to effectively harness the economic potential of the diaspora are the biggest winners. Diasporas’ efforts to shape policy, both foreign and domestic, are prominent in modern research, and various examples are examined. Despite the wide body of research on diaspora economics, the subject is still recent and there are many avenues for future research.
    Keywords: economic and political impacts, international migration, diaspora
    JEL: J61 J68
    Date: 2022–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15334&r=
  2. By: Lindsey Macmillan; Abigail McKnight
    Abstract: This paper presents new estimates of recent social mobility in the UK by gender, education and ethnicity, and their intersections. We measure absolute social class mobility using data from the Labour Force Survey 2014-2018. Overall, little change in social mobility occurred over this short period but sub-group analysis using a pooled sample reveals some important new findings. Education is associated with greater chances for upward mobility and lower risk of downward mobility, particularly for men. There are also stark ethnic differences in social mobility prospects in the UK. Opportunities for upward absolute social mobility appear to be more limited for some ethnic groups; particularly Black African men and women, and Black Caribbean men, even after accounting for origin class and disadvantage associated with first generation immigrant status. By contrast, Indian men and women enjoy higher rates of upward social mobility. Risks of downward absolute social mobility are also higher for Black African men and women, and Black Caribbean men, as well as Pakistani/Bangladeshi men and women, even after accounting for origin class and first generation status. But similarities in patterns among those from Black African and Black Caribbean origins mask different initial conditions: much of the reason for the experience of Black African men and women comes down to higher social class origins and a large proportion of first-generation immigrants, whereas for Black Caribbean men, they have low (high) rates of upward (downward) mobility despite lower social class origins and being more settled in terms of immigration status.
    Keywords: social mobility, education, gender, ethnicity, intersectionality
    Date: 2022–05–26
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:spdorp:11&r=
  3. By: Braschke, Franziska; Puhani, Patrick
    Abstract: This paper uses Indian EUS-NSSO data on 32 states/union territories and 570 districts for a bi-annual panel with 5 waves to estimate how regional population reacts to asymmetric shocks. These shocks are measured by non-employment rates, unemployment rates, and wages in fixed-effects regressions which effectively use changes in these indicators over time within regions as identifying information. Because we include region and time effects, we interpret regression-adjusted population changes as proxies for regional migration. Comparing the results with those for the United States and the European Union, the most striking difference is that, in India, we do not find any significant reactions to asymmetric non-employment shocks at the state level, only at the district level, whereas the estimates are statistically significant and of similar size for the state/NUTS-1 and district level in both the United States and Europe. We find that Indian workers react to asymmetric regional shocks by adjusting up to a third of a regional non-employment shock through migration within two years. This is somewhat higher than the response to non-employment shocks in the United States and the European Union but somewhat lower than the response to unemployment shocks in these economies. In India, the unemployment rate does not seem to be a reliable measure of regional shocks, at least we find no significant effects for it. However, we find a significant population response to regional wage differentials in India at both the state and district level.
    Keywords: Migration, Population, Regional Convergence, Non-Employment, Unemployment, Wages
    JEL: J61
    Date: 2022–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:econwp:2022:03&r=
  4. By: Adar, Sinem; Püttmann, Friedrich
    Abstract: Managing irregular migration is a focal point of EU-Turkey relations today. European perspectives on this issue, for the most part, are split into two camps: a 'caring' one, which concentrates on the well-being of refugees, and a 'concerned' one, which focusses on the external border security of the European Union (EU) and the anxieties of EU citizens. Widely overlooked in the European discussions is the mounting social and political discontent in Turkey, which is hosting the largest refugee population worldwide while facing a serious economic crisis alongside a severe governance dead­lock. To bear fruits in the long run, any EU-Turkey migration cooperation should account for this growing discontent. After all, neither the advancement of the rights of refugees in Turkey nor reliable security cooperation is possible without accord by the Turkish political class and society. To this end, the EU should signal to Turkey its intention to resettle more refugees and support local integration efforts more proactively.
    Date: 2022
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpcom:72022&r=
  5. By: Akbulut-Yuksel, Mevlude (Dalhousie University); Mocan, Naci (Louisiana State University); Tumen, Semih (TED University); Turan, Belgi (TOBB University of Economy and Technology)
    Abstract: We analyze the impact on crime of 3.7 million refugees who entered and stayed in Turkey as a result of the civil war in Syria. Using a novel administrative data source on the flow of offense records to prosecutors' offices in 81 provinces of the country each year, and utilizing the staggered movement of refugees across provinces over time, we estimate instrumental variables models that address potential endogeneity of the number of refugees and their location, and find that an increase in the number of refugees leads to more crime. We estimate that the influx of refugees between 2012 and 2016 generated additional 75,000 to 150,000 crimes per year, although it is not possible to identify the distribution of these crimes between refugees and natives. Additional analyses reveal that low-educated native population has a separate, but smaller, effect on crime. We also highlight the pitfalls of employing incorrect empirical procedures and using poor proxies of criminal activity which produce the wrong inference about the refugee-crime relationship. Our results underline the need to quickly strengthen the social safety systems, to take actions to dampen the impact on the labor market, and to provide support to the criminal justice system in order to mitigate the repercussions of massive influx of individuals into a country, and to counter the social and political backlash that typically emerges in the wake of such large-scale population movements.
    Keywords: refugees, crime, instrumental variables, measurement of crime
    JEL: J08 J2 J3 J38 J61 J68 K14 K37 K42
    Date: 2022–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15335&r=
  6. By: Luca, Davide; Proietti, Paola
    Abstract: The paper investigates the link between organized crime and Italy’s publicly funded asylum seekers’ reception facilities. We gather detailed municipal-level data on the location of mafia activities and Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees (SPRAR)-type reception centres, and provide evidence of how the local presence of mafia increases the likelihood of hosting reception facilities. Statistical evidence and in-depth expert interviews suggest that organized crime correlates with less transparent tendering procedures in the set-up of such centres, while hosting activities increase after local governments are infiltrated by mafias. Overall, results underscore the importance of measures aimed at contrasting organized crime, especially at times of ‘crises’ when public policy is subject to ‘states of exception’.
    Keywords: asylum seekers; mafia infiltration; organized crime; public procurement; reception centres
    JEL: D73 H57 K42 R23
    Date: 2022–04–08
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:115174&r=
  7. By: Gunadi, Christian
    Abstract: As of 2021, 16 U.S. States and the District of Columbia have implemented laws allowing undocumented migrants to acquire a driver's license. In this paper, I hypothesize that lower barriers to work caused by the ability to obtain driving licenses can affect undocumented migrants' fertility decisions. Using a differencein- differences strategy based on temporal and geographical variation in the implementation of laws granting undocumented migrants access to driving licenses across U.S. states, I find that these laws were associated with about 9% decline in childbirth among likely undocumented married women. Exploring the mechanism, the results of the analysis indicate that granting undocumented migrants access to driving licenses increased the propensity to work along the intensive margin. Among those at work, their usual weekly hours rose by approximately 1.5%.
    Keywords: driving licenses,undocumented immigrants,fertility,labor market impacts
    JEL: J13 I38 J15 K37
    Date: 2022
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1094&r=

This nep-mig issue is ©2022 by Yuji Tamura. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
General information on the NEP project can be found at http://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.
NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the School of Economics and Finance of Massey University in New Zealand.