IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/eab/tradew/23005.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Trade, diaspora and migration to New Zealand

Author

Listed:
  • David Law

    (New Zealand Institute of Economic Research)

  • Murat Genc
  • John Bryant

Abstract

NZIER has always had a strong interest in understanding the way in which the New Zealand economy interacts with the rest of the world. We have a long history of producing research into trade liberalisation and globalisation. As the global economy becomes ever more complex, we are now turning our attention to issues such as services, investment, technology transfer and the role of people movement in promoting economic growth and productivity. NZIER is delighted to continue this tradition by funding this important and innovative piece of research by David Law, Murat Gen and John Bryant into the links between trade flows and the movement of people across borders. This research was funded by NZIER in celebration of our 50th Anniversary in 2008. During this very challenging period for the global economy, there has been a tendency for policy makers to implement inwards-focused policies aimed to protecting domestic jobs and promoting domestic economic activity. Such policies are politically popular, but can be economically inefficient and often come at the expense of deeper economic integration between countries. One particularly topical area of policy discussion is the role of immigration in promoting economic growth. New Zealand has long been reliant on immigration to boost its population and to fill gaps in the labour market. And many Kiwis love to travel overseas to gain life and work experience. Given these continual inflows and outflows, it is interesting to consider how people movements might affect the New Zealands exports and imports of goods and services, and thus how immigration policy might be used as a policy lever to boost our international linkages. The paper uses empirical techniques to investigate the links between trade, migration and New Zealands diaspora. It clearly shows that inwards and outwards migration has a positive effect on goods and tourism trade. This suggests that policy makers could design immigration policy with these links in mind in order to maximise the economic potential of migrants. If trade follows migration flows, then an important avenue for boosting New Zealands integration with the global economy may be encouraging migrants from important trading partners.

Suggested Citation

  • David Law & Murat Genc & John Bryant, 2009. "Trade, diaspora and migration to New Zealand," Trade Working Papers 23005, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:eab:tradew:23005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.eaber.org/node/23005
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James A. Dunlevy, 2006. "The Influence of Corruption and Language on the Protrade Effect of Immigrants: Evidence from the American States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(1), pages 182-186, February.
    2. Eichengreen, Barry & Irwin, Douglas A., 1995. "Trade blocs, currency blocs and the reorientation of world trade in the 1930s," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1-2), pages 1-24, February.
    3. James E. Anderson & Eric van Wincoop, 2003. "Gravity with Gravitas: A Solution to the Border Puzzle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 170-192, March.
    4. Bergstrand, Jeffrey H, 1985. "The Gravity Equation in International Trade: Some Microeconomic Foundations and Empirical Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(3), pages 474-481, August.
    5. Sourafel Girma & Zhihao Yu, 2002. "The link between immigration and trade: Evidence from the United Kingdom," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 138(1), pages 115-130, March.
    6. Roger White, 2007. "Immigrant-trade links, transplanted home bias and network effects," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(7), pages 839-852.
    7. Catherine Co & Patricia Euzent & Thomas Martin, 2004. "The export effect of immigration into the USA," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(6), pages 573-583.
    8. Bedassa Tadesse & Roger White, 2010. "Cultural distance as a determinant of bilateral trade flows: do immigrants counter the effect of cultural differences?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 147-152, January.
    9. Roger White & Bedassa Tadesse, 2007. "Immigration Policy, Cultural Pluralism And Trade: Evidence From The White Australia Policy," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(4), pages 489-509, October.
    10. William K. Hutchinson & James A. Dunlevy, 2001. "The Pro-Trade Effect of Immigration on American Exports During Period 1870 to 1910," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 0125, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    11. Bergstrand, Jeffrey H, 1989. "The Generalized Gravity Equation, Monopolistic Competition, and the Factor-Proportions Theory in International Trade," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 71(1), pages 143-153, February.
    12. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Lafourcade, Miren & Mayer, Thierry, 2005. "The trade-creating effects of business and social networks: evidence from France," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 1-29, May.
    13. Wagner, Don & Head, Keith & Ries, John, 2002. "Immigration and the Trade of Provinces," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 49(5), pages 507-525, December.
    14. José V. Blanes & Joan A. Martín-Montaner, 2006. "Migration Flows and Intra-Industry Trade Adjustments," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 142(3), pages 567-584, October.
    15. J. M. C. Santos Silva & Silvana Tenreyro, 2006. "The Log of Gravity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(4), pages 641-658, November.
    16. Cletus C. Coughlin & Howard J. Wall, 2010. "Ethnic networks and trade: intensive vs. extensive margins," Working Papers 2010-016, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    17. Gould, David M, 1994. "Immigrant Links to the Home Country: Empirical Implications for U.S. Bilateral Trade Flows," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(2), pages 302-316, May.
    18. Elhanan Helpman & Marc Melitz & Yona Rubinstein, 2008. "Estimating Trade Flows: Trading Partners and Trading Volumes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 123(2), pages 441-487.
    19. Keith Head & John Ries, 1998. "Immigration and Trade Creation: Econometric Evidence from Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 31(1), pages 47-62, February.
    20. Subhayu Bandyopadhyay & Cletus C. Coughlin & Howard J. Wall, 2008. "Ethnic Networks and US Exports," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 199-213, February.
    21. John Bryant & David Law, 2004. "New Zealand’s Diaspora and Overseas-born Population," Treasury Working Paper Series 04/13, New Zealand Treasury.
    22. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Lafourcade, Miren & Mayer, Thierry, 2005. "The trade-creating effects of business and social networks: evidence from France," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 1-29, May.
    23. White, Roger & Tadesse, Bedassa, 2008. "Immigrants, cultural distance and U.S. state-level exports of cultural products," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 331-348, December.
    24. Ashok Deo Bardhan & Subhrajit Guhathakurta, 2004. "Global Linkages of Subnational Regions: Coastal Exports and International Networks," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 22(2), pages 225-236, April.
    25. Rauch, James E., 1999. "Networks versus markets in international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 7-35, June.
    26. José V. Blanes, 2005. "Does Immigration Help to Explain Intra-Industry Trade? Evidence for Spain," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(2), pages 244-270, July.
    27. Hirotada Kohno & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot (ed.), 2000. "Regional Cohesion and Competition in the Age of Globalization," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1577.
    28. Tadesse, Bedassa & White, Roger, 2008. "Do immigrants counter the effect of cultural distance on trade? Evidence from US state-level exports," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2304-2318, December.
    29. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    30. Coughlin, Cletus C. & Wall, Howard J., 2011. "Ethnic networks and trade: Intensive versus extensive margins," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 113(1), pages 73-75, October.
    31. Kusum Mundra, 2005. "Immigration and International Trade: A Semiparametric Empirical Investigation," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 65-91.
    32. John F. Helliwell, 1997. "National Borders, Trade and Migration," NBER Working Papers 6027, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    33. repec:wvu:wpaper:05-15old2 is not listed on IDEAS
    34. Dunlevy, James A. & Hutchinson, William K., 1999. "The Impact of Immigration on American Import Trade in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(4), pages 1043-1062, December.
    35. Mark G. Herander & Luz A. Saavedra, 2005. "Exports and the Structure of Immigrant-Based Networks: The Role of Geographic Proximity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(2), pages 323-335, May.
    36. James E. Rauch & Vitor Trindade, 2002. "Ethnic Chinese Networks In International Trade," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 116-130, February.
    37. Anderson, James E, 1979. "A Theoretical Foundation for the Gravity Equation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(1), pages 106-116, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roger White, 2010. "Migration and International Trade," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13670.
    2. Noel Gaston & Douglas R. Nelson, 2013. "Bridging Trade Theory And Labour Econometrics: The Effects Of International Migration," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 98-139, February.
    3. Murat Genc & Masood Gheasi & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2012. "The impact of immigration on international trade: a meta-analysis," Chapters, in: Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot & Mediha Sahin (ed.), Migration Impact Assessment, chapter 9, pages 301-337, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. White, Roger & Tadesse, Bedassa, 2008. "Immigrants, cultural distance and U.S. state-level exports of cultural products," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 331-348, December.
    5. Roger White & Bedassa Tadesse, 2011. "International Migration and Economic Integration," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14318.
    6. Giovanni Peri & Francisco Requena-Silvente, 2010. "The trade creation effect of immigrants: evidence from the remarkable case of Spain," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 43(4), pages 1433-1459, November.
    7. Massimiliano Bratti & Luca Benedictis & Gianluca Santoni, 2014. "On the pro-trade effects of immigrants," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 150(3), pages 557-594, August.
    8. Christopher R. Parsons & L. Alan Winters, 2014. "International migration, trade and aid: a survey," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 4, pages 65-112, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Robert E.B. Lucas, 2014. "The migration–trade link in developing economies: a summary and extension of evidence," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.), International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 11, pages 288-326, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. José Vicente Blanes, 2010. "The link between immigration and trade in developing countries," Working Papers 10-07, Asociación Española de Economía y Finanzas Internacionales.
    11. Giovanni Peri & Francisco Requena, 2009. "The Trade Creation Effect of Immigrants: Testing the Theory on the Remarkable Case of Spain," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 0915, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    12. BELLINO, Antonella & CELI, Giuseppe, 2016. "The Migration-Trade Nexus in the Presence of Vertical and Horizontal Product Differentiation," CELPE Discussion Papers 137, CELPE - CEnter for Labor and Political Economics, University of Salerno, Italy.
    13. Ben Dolman, 2007. "Patterns of Migration, Trade and Foreign Direct Investment across OECD Countries," DEGIT Conference Papers c012_030, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    14. Marina Murat, 2013. "Education ties and investments abroad. Empirical evidence from the US and UK," Department of Economics (DEMB) 0014, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Department of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    15. Sonia Plaza, 2013. "Diaspora resources and policies," Chapters, in: Amelie F. Constant & Klaus F. Zimmermann (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Migration, chapter 27, pages 505-529, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Horácio Faustino & Isabel Proença, 2011. "Effects of Immigration on Intra-Industry Trade: A logit analysis," Working Papers Department of Economics 2011/19, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa.
    17. Felbermayr, Gabriel & Grossmann, Volker & Kohler, Wilhelm, 2012. "Migration, International Trade and Capital Formation: Cause or Effect?," IZA Discussion Papers 6975, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Marina Murat, 2014. "Soft, hard or smart power? International students and investments abroad," Center for Economic Research (RECent) 107, University of Modena and Reggio E., Dept. of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    19. Aziz Nusrate & Aziz Ahmed, 2023. "Recent vs Historical Migrants: A Study on the Canadian Provincial Trade-Migration Nexus," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 14(1), pages 1-33, December.
    20. Tadesse, Bedassa & White, Roger, 2008. "Do immigrants counter the effect of cultural distance on trade? Evidence from US state-level exports," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2304-2318, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Diaspora; trade; Migration; New Zealand; economic growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • F10 - International Economics - - Trade - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eab:tradew:23005. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Shiro Armstrong (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eaberau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.