IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/jecgeo/v18y2018i4p915-950..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Intended versus unintended consequences of migration restriction policies: evidence from a natural experiment in Indonesia

Author

Listed:
  • Mattia Makovec
  • Ririn S Purnamasari
  • Matteo Sandi
  • Astrid R Savitri

Abstract

This article studies the consequences of restrictions to migration at the origin on labor market outcomes and school enrolment in origin communities. Our difference-in-differences specification exploits the differential impact across districts in Indonesia of a reform that restricted the migration of Indonesian female domestic workers towards Saudi Arabia in 2011. Our results suggest that this reform did not lead to higher unemployment in Indonesia, but it increased the proportion of workers employed in informal jobs and in agriculture. No detectable change in the consumption patterns of Indonesian households appears from our analysis, suggesting that rural areas in Indonesia could absorb the sudden increase in the availability of workforce. Our findings also show an increase in junior secondary school enrolment of both males and females, arguably reflecting the importance of the maternal presence in the household for the investment in human capital of children.

Suggested Citation

  • Mattia Makovec & Ririn S Purnamasari & Matteo Sandi & Astrid R Savitri, 2018. "Intended versus unintended consequences of migration restriction policies: evidence from a natural experiment in Indonesia," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(4), pages 915-950.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:18:y:2018:i:4:p:915-950.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeg/lby029
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tito Boeri, 2010. "Immigration to the Land of Redistribution," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(308), pages 651-687, October.
    2. Elsner, Benjamin, 2013. "Emigration and wages: The EU enlargement experiment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 154-163.
    3. Alcaraz, Carlo & Chiquiar, Daniel & Salcedo, Alejandrina, 2012. "Remittances, schooling, and child labor in Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 156-165.
    4. Abdurrahman Aydemir & George J. Borjas, 2007. "Cross-Country Variation in the Impact of International Migration: Canada, Mexico, and the United States," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(4), pages 663-708, June.
    5. Jim Airola, 2008. "Labor supply in response to remittance income: the case of Mexico," Journal of Developing Areas, Tennessee State University, College of Business, vol. 41(2), pages 69-78, January-M.
    6. Dean Yang, 2008. "International Migration, Remittances and Household Investment: Evidence from Philippine Migrants’ Exchange Rate Shocks," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(528), pages 591-630, April.
    7. Hanson, Gordon H., 2007. "Emigration, Remittances and Labor Force Participation in Mexico," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 2637, Inter-American Development Bank.
    8. Francesc Ortega & Giovanni Peri, 2016. "The effect of income and immigration policies on international migration," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Economics of International Migration, chapter 11, pages 333-360, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Maureen Hickey & Pitra Narendra & Katie Rainwater, 2013. "A Review of Internal and Regional Migration Policy in Southeast Asia," Working Papers id:5592, eSocialSciences.
    10. Taryn Dinkelman & Martine Mariotti, 2016. "The Long-Run Effects of Labor Migration on Human Capital Formation in Communities of Origin," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 1-35, October.
    11. Francisca M. Antman, 2011. "International Migration and Gender Discrimination among Children Left Behind," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 645-649, May.
    12. George J. Borjas, 2008. "Labor Outflows and Labor Inflows in Puerto Rico," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 32-68.
    13. Facchini, Giovanni & Mayda, Anna Maria & Mishra, Prachi, 2011. "Do interest groups affect US immigration policy?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 114-128, September.
    14. J. Edward Taylor & George Dyer, 2009. "Migration and the Sending Economy: A Disaggregated Rural Economy-Wide Analysis," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(6), pages 966-989.
    15. Cortes, Patricia, 2015. "The Feminization of International Migration and its Effects on the Children Left Behind: Evidence from the Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 62-78.
    16. Julian Giovanni & Andrei A. Levchenko & Francesc Ortega, 2015. "A Global View Of Cross-Border Migration," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 168-202, February.
    17. Francesc Ortega & Giovanni Peri, 2015. "Migration Policies: Recent Advances on Measurement, Determinants and Outcomes," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo, vol. 61(3-4), pages 521-526.
    18. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes & Susan Pozo, 2006. "Migration, Remittances, and Male and Female Employment Patterns," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 222-226, May.
    19. Timothy J. Hatton, 2007. "Should we have a WTO for international migration? [‘The growth of world trade: Tariffs, transport costs and income similarity’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 22(50), pages 340-383.
    20. Mishra, Prachi, 2007. "Emigration and wages in source countries: Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 180-199, January.
    21. Christian Dustmann & Tommaso Frattini & Anna Rosso, 2015. "The Effect of Emigration from Poland on Polish Wages," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 522-564, April.
    22. Frederic DOCQUIER & Çaglar OZDEN & Giovanni PERI, 2010. "The Wage Effects of Immigration and Emigration," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2010044, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    23. Giovanni Facchini & Anna Maria Mayda, 2009. "Does the Welfare State Affect Individual Attitudes toward Immigrants? Evidence across Countries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 295-314, May.
    24. Lori A. Beaman, 2012. "Social Networks and the Dynamics of Labour Market Outcomes: Evidence from Refugees Resettled in the U.S," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(1), pages 128-161.
    25. Hatton, Timothy J., 2014. "The economics of international migration: A short history of the debate," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 43-50.
    26. Theoharides, Caroline, 2020. "The unintended consequences of migration policy on origin-country labor market decisions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    27. Michael Clemens, 2011. "Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk? - Working Paper 264," Working Papers 264, Center for Global Development.
    28. Benjamin Elsner, 2013. "Does emigration benefit the stayers? Evidence from EU enlargement," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 531-553, April.
    29. Kaivan Munshi, 2003. "Networks in the Modern Economy: Mexican Migrants in the U. S. Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 549-599.
    30. Nguyen, Trang & Purnamasari, Ririn, 2011. "Impacts of international migration and remittances on child outcomes and labor supply in Indonesia : how does gender matter ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5591, The World Bank.
    31. Alejandra Cox Edwards & Manuelita Ureta, 2003. "International Migration, Remittances, and Schooling: Evidence from El Salvador," NBER Working Papers 9766, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    32. Samuel Bazzi & Arya Gaduh & Alexander D. Rothenberg & Maisy Wong, 2016. "Skill Transferability, Migration, and Development: Evidence from Population Resettlement in Indonesia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(9), pages 2658-2698, September.
    33. Giannelli, Gianna Claudia & Mangiavacchi, Lucia, 2010. "Children's Schooling and Parental Migration: Empirical Evidence on the," IZA Discussion Papers 4888, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    34. Acosta, Pablo, 2006. "Labor supply, school attendance, and remittances from international migration : the case of El Salvador," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3903, The World Bank.
    35. Gianna Claudia Giannelli & Lucia Mangiavacchi, 2010. "Children's Schooling and Parental Migration: Empirical Evidence on the ‘Left‐behind’ Generation in Albania," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 24(s1), pages 76-92, December.
    36. Edwards, Alejandra Cox & Ureta, Manuelita, 2003. "International migration, remittances, and schooling: evidence from El Salvador," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 429-461, December.
    37. Klein, Paul & Ventura, Gustavo, 2009. "Productivity differences and the dynamic effects of labor movements," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(8), pages 1059-1073, November.
    38. Walmsley, Terrie L. & Winters, L. Alan, 2005. "Relaxing the Restrictions on the Temporary Movement of Natural Persons: A Simulation Analysis," Journal of Economic Integration, Center for Economic Integration, Sejong University, vol. 20, pages 688-726.
    39. Adams, Richard H., Jr. & Cuecuecha, Alfredo, 2010. "The economic impact of international remittances on poverty and household consumption and investment in Indonesia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5433, The World Bank.
    40. Michael A. Clemens, 2011. "Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 83-106, Summer.
    41. Gordon H. Hanson, 2007. "Emigration, Remittances and Labor Force Participation in Mexico," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 9371, Inter-American Development Bank.
    42. Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), 2013. "International Handbook on the Economics of Migration," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 4026.
    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. Samuel Bazzi & Lisa Cameron & Simone Schaner & Firman Witoelar, 2021. "Information, Intermediaries, and International Migration," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2021n30, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    2. Andrea Cinque & Lennart Reiners, 2022. "Confined to Stay: Natural Disasters and Indonesia's Migration Ban," CESifo Working Paper Series 9837, CESifo.
    3. Cosimo Beverelli, 2022. "Pull factors for migration: The impact of migrant integration policies," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(1), pages 171-191, March.

    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. Makovec, Mattia & Purnamasari, Ririn & Sandi, Matteo & Savitri, Astrid, 2016. "Intended vs. unintended consequences of migration restriction policies: evidence from a natural experiment in Indonesia," ISER Working Paper Series 2016-13, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    2. Hatton, Timothy J., 2014. "The economics of international migration: A short history of the debate," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 43-50.
    3. Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq & Sharif, Iffath & Shrestha, Maheshwor, 2021. "Returns to International Migration: Evidence from a Bangladesh-Malaysia Visa Lottery," IZA Discussion Papers 14232, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Anna De Paoli & Mariapia Mendola, 2014. "International Labor Mobility and Child Work in Developing Countries," Development Working Papers 365, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano, revised 07 Apr 2014.
    5. Gröger, André, 2021. "Easy come, easy go? Economic shocks, labor migration and the family left behind," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. De Paoli, Anna & Mendola, Mariapia, 2014. "International Labor Mobility and Child Work in Developing Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 8066, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Chami, Ralph. & Ernst, Ekkehard & Fullenkamp, Connel. & Oeking, Anne., 2018. "Are remittances good for labor markets in LICs, MICs and Fragile States?," ILO Working Papers 994987690202676, International Labour Organization.
    8. Christian Dustmann & Ian P. Preston, 2019. "Free Movement, Open Borders, and the Global Gains from Labor Mobility," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 783-808, August.
    9. Małgorzata Walerych, 2024. "The aggregate and redistributive effects of emigration," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 160(1), pages 99-143, February.
    10. Zhang, Yi & Matz, Julia Anna, 2017. "On the train to brain gain in rural China," Discussion Papers 252443, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    11. Francisca M. Antman, 2013. "The impact of migration on family left behind," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 16, pages 293-308, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Azizi, SeyedSoroosh, 2018. "The impacts of workers' remittances on human capital and labor supply in developing countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 377-396.
    13. Antman, Francisca M., 2018. "Women and Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 11282, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2020. "Development aid, remittances inflows and wages in the manufacturing sector," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 22(2), pages 278-304, December.
    15. Björn NILSSON, 2019. "Education and migration: insights for policymakers," Working Paper 23ca9c54-061a-4d60-967c-f, Agence française de développement.
    16. Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, 2014. "The Impact of Parents Migration on the Well-being of Children Left Behind: Initial Evidence from Romania," IZA Discussion Papers 8225, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Benjamin Elsner, 2022. "Does emigration increase the wages of non-emigrants in sending countries," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 208-208, March.
    18. Hanson, Gordon H., 2010. "International Migration and the Developing World," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4363-4414, Elsevier.
    19. Parag Mahajan & Dean Yang, 2020. "Taken by Storm: Hurricanes, Migrant Networks, and US Immigration," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 250-277, April.
    20. Marchetta, Francesca & Sim, Sokcheng, 2021. "The effect of parental migration on the schooling of children left behind in rural Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor migration; migration policy; female migrants; migration restrictions; local labor markets; Indonesia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:oup:jecgeo:v:18:y:2018:i:4:p:915-950.. 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: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/joeg .

    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.