IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v7y2019i1p18-d212695.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Source Country Economic Development and Dynamics of the Skill Composition of Emigration

Author

Listed:
  • Roxana Idu

    (Economics, Business, and Accounting Department, Rockford University, Rockford, IL 61108, USA; ridu@rockford.edu)

Abstract

This paper presents an endogenous growth model of migration and technological diffusion with transitional dynamics, which provide explanations for the empirical pattern of the mobility transition. A two-skill group extension of this model offers new hypotheses regarding the skill composition of emigration during the mobility transition. Skill-biased technological change (SBTC), which first occurs in the destination, raises the relative return to high skill migration and thus the high-to-low skill emigration ratio. As SBTC eventually diffuses to the source economy, it also raises the relative return to high skill investment there, and causes a decline in the high-to-low skill emigration ratio. Empirical evidence using bilateral migration data from 31 destinations and 195 origins is shown to support this hypothesis, with the average income of origins, at which the peak high-to-low skill emigration ratio is reached, is estimated at $2000 in 2011 US dollars PPP (adjusted for purchasing power parity). Furthermore, research and development intensity as a measure of SBTC in destinations is shown to be empirically, positively linked to the bilateral high-to-low skill emigration ratio.

Suggested Citation

  • Roxana Idu, 2019. "Source Country Economic Development and Dynamics of the Skill Composition of Emigration," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:7:y:2019:i:1:p:18-:d:212695
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/7/1/18/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/7/1/18/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marco Vivarelli, 2014. "Innovation, Employment and Skills in Advanced and Developing Countries: A Survey of Economic Literature," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 123-154.
    2. Beine, Michel & Docquier, Frédéric & Oden-Defoort, Cecily, 2011. "A Panel Data Analysis of the Brain Gain," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 523-532, April.
    3. Robert C. Feenstra & Robert Inklaar & Marcel P. Timmer, 2015. "The Next Generation of the Penn World Table," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(10), pages 3150-3182, October.
    4. Katz, Lawrence F. & Autor, David H., 1999. "Changes in the wage structure and earnings inequality," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, pages 1463-1555, Elsevier.
    5. Isaac Ehrlich & Jinyoung Kim, 2007. "The Evolution of Income and Fertility Inequalities over the Course of Economic Development: A Human Capital Perspective," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 137-174.
    6. Andrea CONTE & Marco VIVARELLI, 2011. "Imported Skill‐Biased Technological Change In Developing Countries," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 49(1), pages 36-65, March.
    7. Michael A. Clemens, 2014. "Does development reduce migration?," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 6, pages 152-185, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Wolfgang Keller, 2004. "International Technology Diffusion," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(3), pages 752-782, September.
    9. Frédéric Docquier & B. Lindsay Lowell & Abdeslam Marfouk, 2009. "A Gendered Assessment of Highly Skilled Emigration," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(2), pages 297-321, June.
    10. Beine, Michel & Docquier, Frederic & Rapoport, Hillel, 2001. "Brain drain and economic growth: theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 275-289, February.
    11. Ralph Rotte & Michael Vogler, 2000. "The effects of development on migration: Theoretical issues and new empirical evidence," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 13(3), pages 485-508.
    12. Harald Fadinger & Karin Mayr, 2014. "Skill-Biased Technological Change, Unemployment, And Brain Drain," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 397-431, April.
    13. Hung‐Ju Chen, 2009. "A Brain Gain Or A Brain Drain? Migration, Endogenous Fertility, And Human Capital Formation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 47(4), pages 766-782, October.
    14. Diego Comin & Martí Mestieri, 2018. "If Technology Has Arrived Everywhere, Why Has Income Diverged?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(3), pages 137-178, July.
    15. David McKenzie & Hillel Rapoport, 2010. "Self-Selection Patterns in Mexico-U.S. Migration: The Role of Migration Networks," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(4), pages 811-821, November.
    16. Giam Cipriani, 2006. "Endogenous fertility, international migration and growth," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 53(1), pages 49-67, March.
    17. Sandra Poncet, 2006. "The Long Term Growth Prospects of the World Economy: Horizon 2050," Working Papers 2006-16, CEPII research center.
    18. Dao, Thu Hien & Docquier, Frédéric & Parsons, Chris & Peri, Giovanni, 2018. "Migration and development: Dissecting the anatomy of the mobility transition," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 88-101.
    19. Larramona, Gemma & Sanso, Marcos, 2006. "Migration dynamics, growth and convergence," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 2261-2279, November.
    20. Djajic, Slobodan & Kirdar, Murat G. & Vinogradova, Alexandra, 2016. "Source-country earnings and emigration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 46-67.
    21. Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), 2014. "International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 15465.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Quy Van Khuc & Minh-Hoang Nguyen & Tam-Tri Le & Truc-Le Nguyen & Thuy Nguyen & Hoang Khac Lich & Quan-Hoang Vuong, 2022. "Brain Drain out of the Blue: Pollution-Induced Migration in Vietnam," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Katarzyna Wlodarczyk, 2021. "Migration and Sustainable Development: The Use of Ukrainian Workers’ Potential on the Polish Labour Market," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 3), pages 28-49.
    3. Leefmans,Naomi & Oomes,Nienke & Rojas Romagosa,Hugo Alexander & Vervliet,Tobias & Berthiaume,Nicolas, 2021. "A Reappraisal of the Migration-Development Nexus : Testing the Robustness of the Migration Transition Hypothesis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9518, The World Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bertoli, Simone & Moraga, Jesús Fernández-Huertas & Guichard, Lucas, 2020. "Rational inattention and migration decisions," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    2. Leefmans,Naomi & Oomes,Nienke & Rojas Romagosa,Hugo Alexander & Vervliet,Tobias & Berthiaume,Nicolas, 2021. "A Reappraisal of the Migration-Development Nexus : Testing the Robustness of the Migration Transition Hypothesis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9518, The World Bank.
    3. Djajic, Slobodan & Kirdar, Murat G. & Vinogradova, Alexandra, 2016. "Source-country earnings and emigration," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 46-67.
    4. Heidland, Tobias & Jannsen, Nils & Groll, Dominik & Kalweit, René & Boockmann, Bernhard, 2021. "Analyse und Prognose von Migrationsbewegungen," Kieler Beiträge zur Wirtschaftspolitik 34, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    5. Dreher, Axel & Fuchs, Andreas & Langlotz, Sarah, 2019. "The effects of foreign aid on refugee flows," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 127-147.
    6. Frédéric Docquier & Hillel Rapoport, 2012. "Globalization, Brain Drain, and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(3), pages 681-730, September.
    7. Michael Clemens, 2014. "Does Development Reduce Migration? - Working Paper 359," Working Papers 359, Center for Global Development.
    8. Mariapia Mendola, 2018. "Global evidence on prospective migrants from developing countries," Working Papers 387, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised 19 Sep 2018.
    9. Micevska, Maja, 2021. "Revisiting forced migration: A machine learning perspective," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    10. Michael A. Clemens & Mariapia Mendola, 2020. "Migration from Developing Countries: Selection, Income Elasticity, and Simpson’s Paradox," Working Papers 539, Center for Global Development.
    11. Grogger, Jeffrey & Hanson, Gordon H., 2011. "Income maximization and the selection and sorting of international migrants," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 42-57, May.
    12. Paul Clist & Gabriele Restelli, 2021. "Development aid and international migration to Italy: Does aid reduce irregular flows?," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 1281-1311, May.
    13. Winter Jana Sievers und Simon, 2019. "Migrationsreduktion durch Entwicklungszusammenarbeit? Eine ökonomische Analyse am Beispiel Afrikas," Journal for Markets and Ethics, Sciendo, vol. 7(1), pages 21-34, June.
    14. Joseph-Simon Görlach, 2023. "Borrowing Constraints and the Dynamics of Return and Repeat Migration," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 41(1), pages 205-243.
    15. Getinet Haile & Ilina Srour & Marco Vivarelli, 2014. "Globalization and Technology Transfer in Ethiopia: Their Impact on Domestic Employment and Skills," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali dises1498, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    16. Michael A. Clemens, 2014. "Does development reduce migration?," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 6, pages 152-185, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Bencek, David & Schneiderheinze, Claas, 2020. "Higher economic growth in poor countries, lower migration flows to the OECD: Revisiting the migration hump with panel data," Kiel Working Papers 2145, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), revised 2020.
    18. Livia Elisa Ortensi & Alessio Menonna, 2017. "Migrating with Special Needs? Projections of Flows of Migrant Women with Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Toward Europe 2016–2030," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(4), pages 559-583, October.
    19. Klöcker, J.A. & Daumann, F., 2023. "What drives migration to Germany? A panel data analysis," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 251-264.
    20. Mountford, Andrew & Rapoport, Hillel, 2011. "The brain drain and the world distribution of income," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 4-17, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:7:y:2019:i:1:p:18-:d:212695. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.