International migration and the role of institutions

Abstract

We study the determinants of international migration with special attention to the role of institutional factors other than economic and demographic fundamentals. We evaluate the impact of political institutions and of those institutions specifically targeted at attracting migrants. For a dataset on 19th century migration, we find that economic and demographic differentials play a major role, but that the quality of institutions also matter. We produce evidence that both political and migration institutions represent significant factors of attraction, even after controlling for their potential endogeneity through a set of instruments exploiting colonial history and the institutions inherited from the past. JEL Classification Numbers: F22, P16, O15.

Women, Work, and Culture

“…73% in 2000. 3 The reasons given for this increase are varied and to some extent dependent on the time period: hypotheses include the rise of the service sector, the diffusion of technology that allowed housework to become less time and energy consuming, and the wider availability of contraception (the pill) that allowed women to control their fertility. 4 A different hypothesis is that the gradual increase in women's labor force participation (LFP) was caused largely by the slow evolution in cultural beliefs about the appropriate role of woman in society.…”

Preparation / Allocation / Habituation: The Holistic Approach to Migrant Exclusion

“…Apart from the importance of the country of origin for understanding the allocation stage, an important factor that influences the labour market placement of migrant workers is the role of migration institutions (Borjas 1994, Bertocchi andStrozzi 2008). These are organizations, private companies, immigrant associations or NGOs which are directly and indirectly related to the job seeking efforts of migrants and play an important role in the access to specific labour markets.…”

Career Path and Political Stability: Factors for Leaving Indonesia?

“…Bertocchi and Strozzi (2008) [6] studied the determinants of international migration with special attention to the role of institutional factors other than economic and demographic fundamentals, which resulted in significant factors of attraction, even after controlling for their potential endogeneity through a set of instruments exploiting colonial history and the institutions inherited from the past; and all is represented by political and migration institutions. A study by Breunig et al (2012) [7] counter the cases of unstable political condition of a country; they claimed that polity of the sending country has a positive effect on migration but negative effect on the receiving country, which means that the number of migrants is affected by the barriers to entry and freedom of exit from sending and receiving country.…”