Working Paper: NBER ID: w7545
Authors: Eli Berman; Zaur Rzakhanov
Abstract: Consider migration to a higher income region as a human capital investment in which parents bear migration costs and children share returns. Migrants from a population with heterogeneous intergenerational discount rates will be self-selected on intergenerational altruism. Thus, immigrants may be self-selected on fertility. Soviet Jews who migrate to Israel despite high migration costs have significantly more children than members of the same birth cohort who migrate later when costs are low. We distinguish selection from treatment effects using a comparison group of women who migrate after childbearing age. We also find that immigrants favor bequests more and spend more time with their grandchildren in the U.S. Health and Retirement Survey. Selection on altruism can explain why historically immigrant-absorbing countries like the U.S. have higher fertility than other countries at comparable income levels. It provides an alternative explanation for Chiswick's classic earnings-overtaking result. Selection on altruism also implies that immigrant-absorbing regions will grow faster, or have higher per capita income, or both.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: D1; D64; D9; F22; J1; N3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Migration (F22) | Fertility (J13) |
| Intergenerational Altruism (D64) | Migration (F22) |
| Migration Costs (F22) | Selection Effects (C24) |
| Selection on Altruism (D64) | Higher Fertility Rates in Immigrant-absorbing Countries (J11) |
| Immigrant Altruism (D64) | Population Growth (J11) |
| Immigrant Altruism (D64) | Higher Per Capita Income (P19) |
| Migration after Childbearing Age (J11) | Treatment Effects (C22) |