The causes and effects of international migrations: evidence from OECD countries 1980-2005

"This paper contains three important contributions to the literature on international migrations. First, it compiles a new dataset on migration flows (and stocks) and on immigration laws for 14 OECD destination countries and 74 sending countries for each year over the period 1980-2005. Second,...

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Main Authors: National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Ortega, Francesc, Peri, Giovanni
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, MA 2009
NBER
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19188404124919066869-The-causes-and-effects-of-inte.htm
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author National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Ortega, Francesc
Peri, Giovanni
author_facet National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Ortega, Francesc
Peri, Giovanni
collection Library items
description "This paper contains three important contributions to the literature on international migrations. First, it compiles a new dataset on migration flows (and stocks) and on immigration laws for 14 OECD destination countries and 74 sending countries for each year over the period 1980-2005. Second, it extends the empirical model of migration choice across multiple destinations, developed by Grogger and Hanson (2008), by allowing for unobserved individual heterogeneity between migrants and non-migrants. We use the model to derive a pseudo-gravity empirical specification of the economic and legal determinants of international migration. Our estimates clearly show that bilateral migration flows are increasing in the income per capita gap between origin and destination. We also find that bilateral flows decrease when destination countries adopt stricter immigration laws. Third, we estimate the impact of immigration flows on employment, investment and productivity in the receiving OECD countries using as instruments the "push" factors in the gravity equation. Specifically, we use the characteristics of the sending countries that affect migration and their changes over time, interacted with bilateral migration costs. We find that immigration increases employment, with no evidence of crowding-out of natives, and that investment responds rapidly and vigorously. The inflow of immigrants does not seem to reduce capital intensity nor total factor productivity in the short-run or in the long run. These results imply that immigration increases the total GDP of the receiving country in the short-run one-for-one, without affecting average wages and average income per person. "
format TEXT
geographic OECD countries
id 19188404124919066869_793fd0c33cc746ae9f9ebe79072cd4ee
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19188404124919066869_793fd0c33cc746ae9f9ebe79072cd4ee
is_hierarchy_title The causes and effects of international migrations: evidence from OECD countries 1980-2005
language English
physical 42 p.
Digital
publishDate 2009
publisher Cambridge, MA
NBER
spellingShingle National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge
Ortega, Francesc
Peri, Giovanni
international migration
law
migration
statistics
The causes and effects of international migrations: evidence from OECD countries 1980-2005
title The causes and effects of international migrations: evidence from OECD countries 1980-2005
topic international migration
law
migration
statistics
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19188404124919066869-The-causes-and-effects-of-inte.htm