Working Paper: NBER ID: w18322
Authors: Francesc Ortega; Giovanni Peri
Abstract: This paper makes two contributions to the literature on the determinants of international migration flows. First, we compile a new dataset on annual bilateral migration flows covering 15 OECD destination countries and 120 sending countries for the period 1980-2006. We also collect data on time-varying immigration policies that regulate the entry of immigrants in our destination countries over this period. Second, we extend the empirical model of migration choice across multiple destinations developed by Grogger and Hanson (2011) by allowing for unobserved individual heterogeneity between migrants and non-migrants. Our estimates show that international migration flows are highly responsive to income per capita at destination. This elasticity is twice as high for within-EU migration, reflecting the higher degree of labor mobility within the European Union. We also find that tightening of laws regulating immigrant entry reduce rapidly and significantly their flow.
Keywords: International Migration; Income; Immigration Policies
JEL Codes: E25; F22; J61
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| income per capita at destination (F29) | international migration flows (F22) |
| tightening of immigration laws (K37) | immigration flows (F22) |
| Maastricht Treaty (F15) | internal migration flows (F22) |
| Schengen Agreement (F55) | immigration from outside the EU (F22) |