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Migrating out of a crowded labor market: evidence from Egypt

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  • Anda David

    (PSL Research university
    Agence Française de Développement)

  • Joachim Jarreau

    (PSL Research university)

Abstract

We analyze the determinants of emigration at the individual and household level, using three waves of the Egyptian labor market panel survey (ELMPS) covering the 1998–2012 period. Exploiting the panel structure of the data allows us to reduce the risk of reverse causality and to estimate the effect of migrant networks more accurately than in studies based on cross-sectional data. We confirm, in the Egyptian context, the non-linear relationship between household resources and migration propensity, due to migration costs; a larger network of past emigrants from the same community mitigates this selection on wealth, increasing the propensity to migrate among poorer households. We also show that unemployment and informal employment act as incentives to emigrate, suggesting that the scarcity of quality jobs, in particular on the skilled labor market, is one important driver of emigration flows in Egypt. However, these incentives turn into effective migration only in communities with a sufficiently large network of past migrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Anda David & Joachim Jarreau, 2017. "Migrating out of a crowded labor market: evidence from Egypt," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-28, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:izamig:v:7:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1186_s40176-017-0092-4
    DOI: 10.1186/s40176-017-0092-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Wenwu & Luo, Le & Gu, Lianglian, 2023. "An empirical study on urban integration of Chinese elderly individuals with migration in periods of economic transformation: Internal mechanism and economic effects," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 170-181.
    2. Anda DAVID & Björn NILSSON, 2021. "Migration and rural development in NENA countries," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 53, pages 147-165.
    3. Vladimir Hlasny & Shireen AlAzzawi, 2020. "Return Migration and Earnings Mobility in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia," Working Papers 562, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    International migration; Networks; Migrant selection; Formality; Egypt;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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