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The Influence of Labor Taxes on the Migration of Skilled Workers

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  • Peter Egger
  • Doina Maria Radulescu

Abstract

This paper investigates empirically the role of taxes on labor for the stock of expatriates and the migration flows of skilled workers. Given the increasing mobility of labour, especially of high-skilled people and expatriates, it is interesting to see to what extent labour income taxes and social security contributions determine migration flows. We collect data on personal income tax profiles for 49 economies and the year 2002. In particular, we determine the component of labor taxes which is borne by employers and the one that is borne byemployees, following the OECD’s Taxing Wages Approach. For the latter, we calculate the progressivity of personal income tax rates between the average wage and five times the average wage. This may be interpreted as the tax progression which is relevant for well-paid workers. Then, we use the personal income tax variables to estimate their effect on bilateral stocks of expatriates into OECD countries and the migration of skilled workers into these countries. Personal income tax rates turn out to have a robust negative effect on cross-border flows of skilled workers in the OECD.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by CESifo Group Munich in its series CESifo Working Paper Series with number 2462.

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Date of creation: 2008
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Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_2462

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Keywords: labor taxation; skilled workers; migration; expatriates;

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References

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  1. Christopher Heady, 2003. "The "Taxing Wages" Approach to Measuring the Tax Burden on Labour," CESifo Working Paper Series 967, CESifo Group Munich.
  2. Heckman, James J, 1979. "Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(1), pages 153-61, January.
  3. Daniel Chiquiar & Gordon H. Hanson, 2005. "International Migration, Self-Selection, and the Distribution of Wages: Evidence from Mexico and the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(2), pages 239-281, April.
  4. Kirchgassner, Gebhard & Pommerehne, Werner W., 1996. "Tax harmonization and tax competition in the European Union: Lessons from Switzerland," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 351-371, June.
  5. Lars P. Feld & Gebhard Kirchgässner, 2000. "Income Tax Competition at the State and Local Level in Switzerland," CESifo Working Paper Series 238, CESifo Group Munich.
  6. Thomas Liebig & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2004. "Migration, Self-Selection and Income Inequality: An International Analysis," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 125-146, 02.
  7. George J. Borjas, 1994. "The Economics of Immigration," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1667-1717, December.
  8. Jeffrey Grogger & Gordon H. Hanson, 2008. "Income Maximization and the Selection and Sorting of International Migrants," NBER Working Papers 13821, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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Cited by:
  1. Hughes Hallett, Andrew & Scott, Drew, 2010. "Scotland: A New Fiscal Settlement," SIRE Discussion Papers 2010-23, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
  2. Klaus Nowotny, 2011. "Welfare Magnets, Taxation and the Location Decisions of Migrants to the EU," ERSA conference papers ersa11p133, European Regional Science Association.
  3. Grossmann, Volker & Stadelmann, David, 2013. "Wage effects of high-skilled migration : international evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6317, The World Bank.
  4. Zohal Hessami & Thushyanthan Baskaran, 2013. "Has Globalization Affected Collective Bargaining? An Empirical Test, 1980-2009," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2013-02, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
  5. Baskaran, Thushyanthan & Hessami, Zohal, 2010. "Globalization and the Composition of Public Education Expenditures: A Dynamic Panel Analysis," MPRA Paper 25750, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  6. Thushyanthan Baskaran & Zohal Hessami, 2011. "Public Education Spending in a Globalized World: Is there a Shift in Priorities Across Educational Stages?," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2011-42, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
  7. Mario Morger, 2013. "What Do Immigrants Value Most About Switzerland? Evidence of the Relative Importance of Income Taxes," CESifo Working Paper Series 4134, CESifo Group Munich.
  8. Hendel, Ulrich, 2012. "The Influence of Altruistic Preferences on the Race to the Bottom of Welfare States," Discussion Papers in Economics 13999, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
  9. Peter Huber & Julia Bock-Schappelwein, 2013. "The Impact of Migration Policy on Migrants’ Education Structure: Evidence from Austrian Policy Reform," DANUBE: Law and Economics Review, European Association Comenius - EACO, issue 1, pages 1-21, March.
  10. Bertoli, Simone & Fernández-Huertas Moraga, Jesús, 2012. "Visa Policies, Networks and the Cliff at the Border," IZA Discussion Papers 7094, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

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