This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Skilled Emigration and Skill Creation: A quasi-experiment

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Michael Clemens ()
Satish Chand

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Does the emigration of highly-skilled workers deplete local human capital? The answer is not obvious if migration prospects induce human capital formation. We analyze a unique natural quasi-experiment in the Republic of the Fiji Islands, where political shocks have provoked one of the largest recorded exoduses of skilled workers from a developing country. Mass emigration began unexpectedly and has occurred only in a well-defined subset of the population, creating a treatment group that foresaw likely emigration and two different quasi-control groups that did not. We use rich census and administrative microdata to address a range of concerns about experimental validity. This allows plausible causal attribution of post-shock changes in human capital accumulation to changes in emigration patterns. We show that high rates of emigration by tertiary-educated Fiji Islanders not only raised investment in tertiary education in Fiji; they moreover raised the stock of tertiary educated people in Fiji—net of departures.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/123641
File Format:
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Center for Global Development in its series Working Papers with number 152.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 65 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cgd:wpaper:152

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.cgdev.org

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (David Roodman).

Related research
Keywords: migration; human capital; fiji;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
O15 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

This item is featured on the following reading lists:
  1. Economic Logic blog
References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Catia Batista & Aitor Lacuesta & Pedro C. Vicente, 2007. "Brain Drain or Brain Gain? Micro Evidence from an African Success Story," Economics Series Working Papers 343, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Hanemann, W Michael, 1991. "Willingness to Pay and Willingness to Accept: How Much Can They Differ?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(3), pages 635-47, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Stark, Oded & Helmenstein, Christian & Prskawetz, Alexia, 1997. "A Brain Gain with a Brain Drain," Economics Series 45, Institute for Advanced Studies. [Downloadable!]
  4. Stark, Oded & Helmenstein, Christian & Prskawetz, Alexia, 1997. "A brain gain with a brain drain," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 227-234, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Esther Duflo & Rachel Glennerster & Michael Kremer, 2006. "Using Ramdomization in Development Economics Research: A Toolkit," NBER Technical Working Papers 0333, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Michel Beine & Fréderic Docquier & Hillel Rapoport, 2008. "Brain Drain and Human Capital Formation in Developing Countries: Winners and Losers," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(528), pages 631-652, 04. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. McKenzie, David & Rapoport, Hillel, 2006. "Can migration reduce educational attainment ? Evidence from Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3952, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  9. Duflo, Esther & Glennerster, Rachel & Kremer, Michael, 2008. "Using Randomization in Development Economics Research: A Toolkit," Handbook of Development Economics, Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Dennis Görlich & Toman Omar Mahmoud & Christoph Trebesch, 2007. "Explaining Labour Market Inactivity in Migrant-Sending Families: Housework, Hammock, or Higher Education," Kiel Working Papers 1391, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. [Downloadable!]
  11. Paul W. Miller, 1999. "Immigration Policy and Immigrant Quality: The Australian Points System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 192-197, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. de Brauw, Alan & Giles, John, 2008. "Migrant opportunity and the educational attainment of youth in rural China," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4526, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You can include your works in the database easily by uploading them on the Munich Personal RePEc Archive (MPRA) if you do not have access to an institutional RePEc archive.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-16.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.