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Why go to France or Germany, if you could as well go to the UK or the US? Selective Features of Immigration to four major OECD Countries

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  • Wido Geis
  • Silke Uebelmesser
  • Martin Werding

Abstract

Building on a new data set which is combined from national micro-data bases, we highlight differences in the structure of migrants to four countries, viz. France, Germany, the UK and the US, which receive a substantial share of all immigrants to the OECD world. Looking at immigrants by source countries, we illustrate the important role of distance, both geographical and cultural, immigration policies and migrant networks. Differentiating immigrants by their educational attainments, we observe interesting patterns in the skill composition, employment opportunities and wages for migrants to the different destination countries. Focusing on migration between the four countries in our data set, we find that migration within Western Europe is small and rather balanced in terms of skill structures, while there appears to be a brain drain from Europe to the US.

Suggested Citation

  • Wido Geis & Silke Uebelmesser & Martin Werding, 2008. "Why go to France or Germany, if you could as well go to the UK or the US? Selective Features of Immigration to four major OECD Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series 2427, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_2427
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Drinkwater, Stephen & Eade, John & Garapich, Michal, 2006. "Poles Apart? EU Enlargement and the Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 2410, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. David G. Blanchflower & Chris Shadforth, 2009. "Fear, Unemployment and Migration," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 119(535), pages 136-182, February.
    3. Kaivan Munshi, 2003. "Networks in the Modern Economy: Mexican Migrants in the U. S. Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 549-599.
    4. Bhagwati, Jagdish & Hamada, Koichi, 1974. "The brain drain, international integration of markets for professionals and unemployment : A theoretical analysis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 19-42, April.
    5. Saint-Paul, Gilles, 2004. "The Brain Drain: Some Evidence from European Expatriates in the United States," IDEI Working Papers 307, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    6. Saint-Paul, Gilles, 2004. "The Brain Drain: Some Evidence from European Expatriates in the US," CEPR Discussion Papers 4680, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Pedersen, Peder J. & Pytlikova, Mariola & Smith, Nina, 2004. "Selection or Network Effects? Migration Flows into 27 OECD Countries, 1990-2000," IZA Discussion Papers 1104, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Wido Geis & Silke Uebelmesser & Martin Werding, 2013. "How do Migrants Choose Their Destination Country? An Analysis of Institutional Determinants," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 825-840, November.
    9. Anna Mayda, 2010. "International migration: a panel data analysis of the determinants of bilateral flows," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 1249-1274, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Lumpe, Claudia, 2017. "Public beliefs in social mobility and high-skilled migration," Ruhr Economic Papers 691, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    2. Kahanec, Martin, 2012. "Skilled Labor Flows: Lessons from the European Union," IZA Research Reports 49, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Irena Kogan, 2015. "The role of immigration policies for immigrants’ selection and economic success," ImPRovE Working Papers 15/05, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    4. Wido Geis, 2011. "The situation of immigrants in the labour market: A comparison of Europe and the US," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 64(14), pages 30-36, July.
    5. Lumpe, Claudia & Lumpe, Christian, 2016. "Social Status and Public Expectations: Self-Selection of High-Skilled Migrants," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145685, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Wido Geis & Silke Uebelmesser & Martin Werding, 2013. "How do Migrants Choose Their Destination Country? An Analysis of Institutional Determinants," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(5), pages 825-840, November.
    7. Robert Lehmann & Wolfgang Nagl, 2019. "Explaining spatial patterns of foreign employment in Germany," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(7), pages 991-1003, July.
    8. Wido Geis, 2010. "High Unemployment in Germany: Why do Foreigners Suffer Most?," ifo Working Paper Series 90, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    9. Seele, Peter, 2011. ""If your letter was in German, I would not understand a bit, and would have ignored that": Preliminary findings from a survey of highly skilled migrants from India and China with working/edu," Wittener Diskussionspapiere zu alten und neuen Fragen der Wirtschaftswissenschaft 14/2011, Witten/Herdecke University, Faculty of Management and Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; immigration policy; education; employment; wages; brain drain;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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