Working Paper: NBER ID: w20759
Authors: Emily Beam; David McKenzie; Dean Yang
Abstract: Significant income gains from migrating from poorer to richer countries have motivated unilateral (source-country) policies facilitating labor emigration. However, their effectiveness is unknown. We conducted a large-scale randomized experiment in the Philippines testing the impact of unilaterally facilitating international labor migration. Our most intensive treatment doubled the rate of job offers but had no identifiable effect on international labor migration. Even the highest overseas job-search rate we induced (22%) falls far short of the share initially expressing interest in migrating (34%). We conclude that unilateral migration facilitation will at most induce a trickle, not a flood, of additional emigration.
Keywords: international labor migration; Philippines; unilateral facilitation; randomized experiment
JEL Codes: C93; F22; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| barriers preventing migration (F22) | international labor migration rates (F22) |
| expressed interest in migration (F22) | actual migration behavior (F22) |
| unilateral migration facilitation policies (J68) | international labor migration rates (F22) |
| increased job offers (J68) | likelihood of obtaining a job offer (J68) |
| likelihood of obtaining a job offer (J68) | migration (F22) |