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on Economics of Human Migration |
| By: | Le, Daniel |
| Abstract: | The subject of ethnic return migration has garnered growing attention within the realm of international migration research. While much of the existing literature has centered on the movement of individuals returning from low-income to high-income nations, this paper illuminates the inverse trajectory by scrutinizing the trend of second-generation, Western-born Vietnamese migrants who return to their ancestral country of Vietnam. Drawing on 32 in-depth interviews from participants from 11 different Western countries, the current online ethnography explores the phenomenon of ethnic return migration of the second generation. Through an analysis of the interplay between the birth home and ancestral home, identity and belonging, this paper elucidates the factors that both encourage and obstruct the ethnic return migration of Western-born Vietnamese migrants. |
| Date: | 2023–08–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:ykjr9_v1 |
| By: | Halim, Daniel Zefanya; Seetahul, Suneha |
| Abstract: | Work-related migration has many potential drivers. While current literature has outlined a theoretical framework of various “push-pull” factors affecting the likelihood of international migration, empirical papers are often constrained by the scarcity of detailed data on migration, especially in developing countries, and are forced to look at few of these factors in isolation. When detailed data is available, researchers may face arbitrary choices of which variables to include and how to sequence their inclusion. As male and female migrants tend to face occupational segregation, the determinants of migration likely differ by gender, which compounds these data challenges. To overcome these three issues, this paper uses a rich primary household survey among migrant communities in Indonesia and employs two supervised machine-learning methods to identify the top predictors of migration by gender: random forests and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator stability selection. The paper confirms some determinants established by earlier studies and reveals several additional ones, as well as identifies differences in predictors by gender. |
| Date: | 2023–04–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10396 |
| By: | Saavedra Facusse, Trinidad Berenice; Inchauste Comboni, Maria Gabriela |
| Abstract: | This study uses the 2020 Census to explore the determinants of interstate migration in Mexico between 2015 and 2020 and the earnings gains from migration. The study analyzes both spatial characteristics (push and pull factors in the origin and destination states) and individual factors that influence the decision to migrate and where to migrate. Push and pull factors are assessed using a gravity-type model. Individual factors are analyzed using a multinomial regression model that accounts for migration reasons. Subsequently, the study measures the impact of internal migration on labor income. Earnings gains are estima ted using a double selection model that accounts simultaneously for the decisions to migrate and to work. Finally, the paper discusses some policy recommendations that could help leverage internal migration potential for improving women's labor market outcomes. |
| Date: | 2023–06–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10493 |
| By: | Behrer, Arnold Patrick; Bolotnyy, Valentin |
| Abstract: | Using data on the paths of all hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin from 1992 to 2017, this paper studies whether migration has served as a form of adaptation to hurricane risk. The findings show that on average hurricanes have little to no impact on county out-migration, with population-weighted exposure to hurricanes increasing slightly over the sample period. Counties with high economic activity see net in-migration in the years after a hurricane. Further, return migration likely plays a role in offsetting any out-migration in the year of the storm. The intensity of pre-hurricane migration between county pairs is a strong predictor of excess migration after a hurricane, suggesting that existing economic and social ties dominate in post-hurricane migration decisions. Given existing policies and incentives, the economic and social benefits that people derive from living in high-risk areas currently outweigh the incentive to adapt to future storms by relocating across counties. |
| Date: | 2023–07–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10528 |
| By: | Baseler, Travis Andreas; Narayan, Ambar; Ng, Odyssia Sophie Si Jia; Sinha Roy, Sutirtha |
| Abstract: | People may avoid migrating if they cannot insure themselves against the risk of a bad outcome. Governments can reduce the consumption risk faced by migrants by allowing them to access social protection programs in the destination. This study randomly informed around 62, 000 households across 18 Indian states about a new program allowing migrants to collect their food ration across the country, together with information about practical barriers to using the program. Four months later, treated households held lower beliefs about food ration portability, and were less likely to migrate to cities. The findings indicate that food insecurity risk reduces urban migration. |
| Date: | 2023–08–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10549 |
| By: | Ghose, Devaki; Wang, Zhiling |
| Abstract: | Using a policy change in the Netherlands in 2012 that made it easier and less costly for firms to employ high-skilled short-stay non-EU workers and a matched employer-employee data, this paper shows that firms in high-skill industries respond by both employing a higher share of non-EU immigrants and increasing the total amount of offshoring to non-EU countries. With reduced costs of hiring short-stay non-EU workers, small firms hire and fire more non-EU workers in a given year. Many of these workers return to their home countries, establishing direct connections that boost offshoring to firms in the Netherlands. Large firms, on the other hand, absorb some of the workers leaving the small firms. These workers also establish connections between their host and origin countries, boosting offshoring. |
| Date: | 2023–03–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10371 |
| By: | Lange, Martin; McNamara, Sarah; Schmidt, Philipp |
| Abstract: | The labor market integration of asylum seekers remains a contested issue. Using the EU-Labor-Force-Survey, we characterize the state of asylum seekers' labor market integration in Europe, and provide representative statistics on several dimensions of integration. We compare asylum seekers to natives and economic migrants and find that asylum seekers struggle to integrate across European states, exhibiting employment rates of 10 percentage points lower than that of natives, on average, as well as a notable gap in job-quality. Analyzing self-reported barriers to employment, we document that asylum seekers' lower employment rates and job-quality are likely the result of institutional hurdles. |
| Keywords: | asylum seekers, refugees, labor market integration |
| JEL: | F22 K37 J11 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:312191 |
| By: | Aya Aboulhosn; Cevat Giray Aksoy; Berkay Ozcan |
| Abstract: | Debates about immigration’s role in addressing population aging typically concentrate on immigrant fertility rates. Moreover, standard projections account for migration’s impact on overall population growth while largely overlooking how immigration might affect native fertility. In contrast, we show that forced immigration influences native fertility as well. We investigate this relationship by examining the influx of refugees into Türkiye following the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Using two complementary instrumental variable strategies, we find robust evidence that native fertility increases in response to forced migration. This result holds across three distinct datasets and is further supported by a corresponding rise in subjective fertility measures, such as the ideal number of children. Additionally, we explore four potential mechanisms and document significant heterogeneity in fertility responses among different native subgroups. Our findings suggest that factors related to the labor market and norm transmission may help explain the observed increase in native fertility. |
| Keywords: | forced migration, fertility, refugees, social interactions |
| JEL: | J13 R23 F22 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11683 |
| By: | Yao, Koffi Yves; Kouakou, Auguste Konan; |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the essential role of migration and remittances in development across sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on Côte d’Ivoire. It demonstrates that these financial flows help alleviate poverty and stabilise the economy in the short term while fostering long-term development through investments in human capital, entrepreneurship, and social protection. However, several challenges persist: excessive reliance on remittances may hinder local productivity, weaken exports, and increase import dependency. The paper recommends policies aimed at economic diversification, enhanced financial inclusion, reduced transfer costs, and better-coordinated migration policies to maximise the developmental benefits of remittances. |
| Keywords: | Migration, Remittances, Financing of Development |
| JEL: | F22 F24 O1 |
| Date: | 2025–02–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:123655 |
| By: | Amankwah, Akuffo; Atta-Ankomah, Richmond; Moshi, Goodiel Charles; Swinkels, Robertus A |
| Abstract: | Structural change has implications for various dimensions of development, including poverty reduction. However, the existing empirical literature on Sub-Saharan African economies, including Tanzania, has mainly focused on trends and patterns in macroeconomic or aggregate welfare indicators, largely providing a descriptive analysis of the nature of structural change and its potential welfare implications. This paper provides micro insights on structural change in Tanzania and its effect on welfare, using a recent household panel dataset, which was collected between 2015 and 2021. The results show that cross-sector labor movements are dominated by movements between agriculture and services, although most individuals studied within the two periods continue to remain in agriculture, with industry’s share in employment declining marginally. The paper shows that among the individuals studied, the number of people who slid into poverty was nearly twice the number who escaped poverty, and this is significantly influenced by the pattern of sectoral transitions experienced by the individuals. The findings show that in addition to sectoral transitions and migration being important to each other, they are both driven by similar micro factors. The paper highlights the importance of education (particularly secondary or higher education) to increasing the chances of an individual embarking on welfare-enhancing sectoral movement and associated migration across districts in Tanzania. |
| Date: | 2023–07–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10530 |