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Bounding the Price Equivalent of Migration Barriers

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  • Clemens, Michael A.

    (George Mason University)

  • Montenegro, Claudio

    (University of Chile)

  • Pritchett, Lant

    (Harvard Kennedy School)

Abstract

Large international differences in the price of labor can be sustained by differences between workers, or by natural and policy barriers to worker mobility. We use migrant selection theory and evidence to place lower bounds on the ad valorem equivalent of labor mobility barriers to the United States, with unique nationally-representative microdata on both U.S. immigrant workers and workers in their 42 home countries. The average price equivalent of migration barriers in this setting, for low-skill males, is greater than $13,700 per worker per year. Natural and policy barriers may each create annual global losses of trillions of dollars.

Suggested Citation

  • Clemens, Michael A. & Montenegro, Claudio & Pritchett, Lant, 2016. "Bounding the Price Equivalent of Migration Barriers," IZA Discussion Papers 9789, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9789
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tjaden, Jasper & Dunsch, Felipe Alexander, 2021. "The effect of peer-to-peer risk information on potential migrants – Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Michael A. Clemens & Hannah Postel, 2017. "Temporary work visas as US-Haiti development cooperation: a preliminary impact evaluation," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Biavaschi, Costanza & Burzyński, Michał & Elsner, Benjamin & Machado, Joël, 2020. "Taking the skill bias out of global migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    5. Parag Mahajan & Dean Yang, 2020. "Taken by Storm: Hurricanes, Migrant Networks, and US Immigration," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 250-277, April.
    6. Maud HAZAN & Claire ZANUSO & Rafael NOVELLA, 2018. "Aspirations, attentes et réalités de la jeunesse dans un Etat fragile : le cas haïtien," Working Paper 98e53f2a-19d2-4649-a3e5-6, Agence française de développement.
    7. Pritchett, Lant, 2018. "Alleviating Global Poverty: Labor Mobility, Direct Assistance, and Economic Growth," Working Paper Series rwp18-013, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    8. Clemens, Michael A., 2021. "Violence, development, and migration waves: Evidence from Central American child migrant apprehensions," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; growth; impact; GDP; tariff; quota; deadweight; cost; visa; barrier; price; wedge;
    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
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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