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Does Birthplace Diversity affect Economic Complexity? Cross-country Evidence

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  • Dany Bahar
  • Hillel Rapoport
  • Riccardo Turati

Abstract

We empirically investigate the relationship between a country’s economic complexity and the diversity in the birthplaces of its immigrants. Our cross-country analysis suggests that birthplace diversity is strongly and positively associated with economic complexity. This holds particularly for diversity among highly educated migrants and for countries at intermediate levels of economic complexity. The results are robust to accounting for previous trends in birthplace diversity as well as to using alternatives diversity measures. We address endogeneity concerns by instrumenting diversity through predicted stocks from a pseudo-gravity model as well as from a standard shift-share approach. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that birthplace diversity boosts economic complexity by increasing the diversification of the host country’s export basket.

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  • Dany Bahar & Hillel Rapoport & Riccardo Turati, 2020. "Does Birthplace Diversity affect Economic Complexity? Cross-country Evidence," Working Papers 2020-01, CEPII research center.
    • Handle: RePEc:cii:cepidt:2020-01
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    4. Adam Levai & Riccardo Turati, 2021. "The Impact of Immigration on Workers’ Protection," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2021021, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES), revised 07 Sep 2021.
    5. Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Su, Thanh Dinh, 2021. "Economic integration and economic complexity: The role of basic resources in absorptive capability in 40 selected developing countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 609-625.
    6. Anthony Edo & Lionel Ragot & Hillel Rapoport & Sulin Sardoschau & Andreas Steinmayr & Arthur Sweetman, 2020. "An introduction to the economics of immigration in OECD countries," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(4), pages 1365-1403, November.
    7. Brice Kamguia & Sosson Tadadjeu & Clovis Miamo & Henri Njangang, 2022. "Does foreign aid impede economic complexity in developing countries?," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 169, pages 71-88.
    8. Nguyen, Canh Phuc & Schinckus, Christophe & Su, Thanh Dinh, 2020. "The drivers of economic complexity: International evidence from financial development and patents," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 140-150.
    9. Trung V. Vu, 2022. "Linking LGBT inclusion and national innovative capacity," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 191-214, January.
    10. Chiara Zanardello, 2023. "Market forces in Italian academia today (and yesterday)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(1), pages 651-698, January.
    11. Ying Zhou & Sajid Anwar, 2022. "Immigrant Diversity, Institutional Quality, and GVC Position," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, February.
    12. Ajide, Kazeem Bello, 2022. "Is natural resource curse thesis an empirical regularity for economic complexity in Africa?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    13. Keneck-Massil, Joseph & Nvuh-Njoya, Youssouf, 2021. "Did colonisation matter for comparative economic complexity?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    14. Fahim Al Marhubi, 2021. "Economic Complexity and Inflation: An Empirical Analysis," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 49(3), pages 259-271, September.
    15. Na Yan & Shanlang Lin & Jieping Chen & Youshuai Sun, 2023. "The Power of Culture: Does Diversity Affect the Breakthrough of the Hu Line in China?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    16. Honoré Tekam Oumbé & Ronald Djeunankan & Alain Mekia Ndzana, 2023. "Does information and communication technologies affect economic complexity?," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 1-25, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic Complexity; Birthplace Diversity; Immigration; Growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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