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Does Emigration Benefit the Stayers? The EU Enlargement as a Natural Experiment. Evidence from Lithuania

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  • Benjamin Elsner

    (Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics and the Institute for International Integration Studies)

Abstract

The eastern enlargement of the European Union in 2004 triggered a large flow of migrant workers from the new member states to the UK and Ireland. This paper analyzes the impact of this migration wave on the real wages in the source countries. I consider the case of Lithuania, which had the highest share of emigrants relative to its workforce among all ten new member states. Using data from the Lithuanian Household Budget Survey and the Irish Census, I find that emigration had a significant positive effect on the wages of men who stayed in the country, but no such effect is visible for women. A percentage point increase in the emigration rate increases the real wage of men on average by 1%. Several robustness checks confirm this result.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Elsner, 2010. "Does Emigration Benefit the Stayers? The EU Enlargement as a Natural Experiment. Evidence from Lithuania," Working Papers 2010.151, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    • Handle: RePEc:fem:femwpa:2010.151
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gianmarco I. P. Ottaviano & Giovanni Peri, 2021. "Rethinking The Effect Of Immigration On Wages," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Firms and Workers in a Globalized World Larger Markets, Tougher Competition, chapter 9, pages 245-290, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Emigration & wages
      by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2010-06-08 18:25:06

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    Cited by:

    1. Elsner, Benjamin, 2013. "Emigration and wages: The EU enlargement experiment," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 154-163.
    2. Julie Fry, 2014. "Migration and Macroeconomic Performance in New Zealand: Theory and Evidence," Treasury Working Paper Series 14/10, New Zealand Treasury.
    3. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Emigration; Labor Mobility; EU Enlargement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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