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Self-selection in migration and returns to unobservable skills

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Abstract

Several papers have tested the empirical validity of the migration models proposed by Borjas (1987) and Borjas, Bronars, and Trejo (1992). However, to our knowledge, none has been able to disentangle the separate impact of observable and unobservable individual characteristics, and their respective returns across different locations, on an individual's decision to migrate. We build a model in which individuals sort, in part, on potential earnings - where earnings across different locations are a function of both observable and unobservable characteristics. We focus on the inter-provincial migration patterns of Canadian physicians. We choose this particular group for several reasons including the fact that they are paid on a fee-for-service basis. Since wage rates are exogenous, earning differentials are driven by differences in productivity. We then estimate a mixed conditional-logit model to determine the effects of individual and destination-specific characteristics (particularly earnings differentials) on physician location decisions. We find, among other things, that high-productivity physicians (based on unobservables) are more likely to migrate to provinces where the productivity premium is greater, while low-productivity physicians are more likely to migrate to areas where the productivity premium is lower. These results are consistent with a modified Borjas model of self-selection in migration based on both unobservables and observables.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoit Dostie & Pierre Thomas Léger, 2006. "Self-selection in migration and returns to unobservable skills," Cahiers de recherche 06-01, HEC Montréal, Institut d'économie appliquée.
  • Handle: RePEc:iea:carech:0601
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    1. Gary L. Hunt & Richard E. Mueller, 2004. "North American Migration: Returns to Skill, Border Effects, and Mobility Costs," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(4), pages 988-1007, November.
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    7. George J. Borjas, 2021. "Self-Selection and the Earnings of Immigrants," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 4, pages 69-91, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
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    1. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Vassilis Tselios, 2010. "Returns to migration, education and externalities in the European Union," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(2), pages 411-434, June.
    2. Giuseppe Croce & Emanuela Ghignoni, 2011. "Overeducation and spatial flexibility in Italian local labour markets," Working Papers in Public Economics 145, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    3. Terry Gregory & Melanie Arntz & Florian Lehmer, 2011. "Unequal Pay or Unequal Employment? What Drives the Self-Selection of Internal Migrants in Germany?," ERSA conference papers ersa11p972, European Regional Science Association.
    4. Andries de Grip & Didier Fouarge & Jan Sauermann, 2010. "What affects international migration of European science and engineering graduates?," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(5), pages 407-421.
    5. Dean R. Lillard & Anna Manzoni, 2012. "International Migration as Occupational Mobility," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 498, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    6. Andrea Cutillo & Claudio Ceccarelli, 2010. "The internal relocation premium: are migrants positively or negatively selected? Evidence from Italy," Working Papers in Public Economics 137, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration; self-selection; earnings; longitudinal data; productivity.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions

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