Working Paper: NBER ID: w30804
Authors: Toman Barsbai; Vojtech Bartos; Victoria Licuanan; Andreas Steinmayr; Erwin Tiongson; Dean Yang
Abstract: International migrant workers are vulnerable to abuses by their employers. We implemented a randomized controlled trial of an intervention to reduce mistreatment of Filipino women working as domestic workers (DWs) by their household employers in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. The intervention -- encouraging DWs to show their employers a photo of their family while providing a small gift when starting employment -- caused DWs to experience less mistreatment, have higher satisfaction with the employer, and be more likely to stay with the employer. DWs' families in the Philippines also come to view international labor migration more positively, while they generally remain unaware of the intervention. An online experiment with potential employers in Hong Kong and the Middle East suggests that a mechanism behind the treatment effect is a reduction in the employer's perceived social distance from the employee.
Keywords: Migrant Workers; Social Distance; Mistreatment; Randomized Controlled Trial
JEL Codes: J50; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| reduction in perceived social distance between the employer and the DW (J79) | reduction in mistreatment (J81) |
| showing a family photo (Y91) | increased perceived generosity towards the DWs (D64) |
| intervention encouraging domestic workers (DWs) to show their employers a family photo and provide a small gift (F24) | reduction in mistreatment (J81) |
| intervention encouraging domestic workers (DWs) to show their employers a family photo and provide a small gift (F24) | increase in satisfaction with their employers (J28) |
| intervention encouraging domestic workers (DWs) to show their employers a family photo and provide a small gift (F24) | DWs reporting less mistreatment (J81) |
| intervention encouraging domestic workers (DWs) to show their employers a family photo and provide a small gift (F24) | DWs more likely to stay with their employer (J63) |
| intervention encouraging domestic workers (DWs) to show their employers a family photo and provide a small gift (F24) | families of the DWs perceive international labor migration more positively (F22) |
| intervention encouraging domestic workers (DWs) to show their employers a family photo and provide a small gift (F24) | increased education expenditures and school enrollment of children in left-behind households (I21) |