IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hic/wpaper/130.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The labour market impact of mobility restrictions: Evidence from the West Bank

Author

Listed:
  • Massimiliano Cal�

    (World Bank)

  • Sami H. Miaari

    (World Bank)

Abstract

Using data on Israeli closure in the Palestinian West Bank, we provide new evidence on the labour market effects of conflict-induced restrictions to mobility. We exploit the fact that the placement of physical barriers by Israel was exogenous to local labour market conditions and find a causal negative effect of these barriers on employment, wages and days worked per month. On the other hand the barriers had a positive impact on the number of hours per working day. These effects are driven mainly by checkpoints and only a tiny portion of the effects is due to direct restrictions on workers� mobility. Despite being an under-estimation of the actual effects, the overall costs of the barriers on the West Bank labour market are far from being negligible: in 2007 for example these costs amounted to 6% of GDP.

Suggested Citation

  • Massimiliano Cal� & Sami H. Miaari, 2012. "The labour market impact of mobility restrictions: Evidence from the West Bank," HiCN Working Papers 130, Households in Conflict Network.
    • Handle: RePEc:hic:wpaper:130
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hicn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/HiCN-WP-1301.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David A. Jaeger & M. Daniele Paserman, 2008. "The Cycle of Violence? An Empirical Analysis of Fatalities in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(4), pages 1591-1604, September.
    2. Shemyakina, Olga, 2011. "The effect of armed conflict on accumulation of schooling: Results from Tajikistan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 186-200, July.
    3. Sami Miaari & Robert Sauer, 2011. "The labor market costs of conflict: closures, foreign workers, and Palestinian employment and earnings," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 129-148, March.
    4. Christopher Ksoll & Rocco Macchiavello & Ameet Morjaria, 2010. "The Effect of Ethnic Violence on an Export- Oriented Industry," CID Working Papers 48, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    5. Miaari, Sami & Zussman, Asaf & Zussman, Noam, 2014. "Employment restrictions and political violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 24-44.
    6. Alberto Abadie & Javier Gardeazabal, 2003. "The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case Study of the Basque Country," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 113-132, March.
    7. Gindling,T. H. & Mossaad,Nadwa & Newhouse,David Locke, 2016. "Earnings premiums and penalties for self-employment and informal employees around the world," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7530, The World Bank.
    8. Angrist, Joshua D, 1995. "The Economic Returns to Schooling in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1065-1087, December.
    9. Mansour, Hani, 2010. "The effects of labor supply shocks on labor market outcomes: Evidence from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 930-939, December.
    10. Benjamin Faber, 2014. "Trade Integration, Market Size, and Industrialization: Evidence from China's National Trunk Highway System," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(3), pages 1046-1070.
    11. Guy Michaels, 2008. "The Effect of Trade on the Demand for Skill: Evidence from the Interstate Highway System," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(4), pages 683-701, November.
    12. Catherine rodr�guez & fabio sánchez, 2012. "Armed Conflict Exposure, Human Capital Investments, And Child Labor: Evidence From Colombia," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 161-184, April.
    13. Philip Verwimp & Jan Van Bavel, 2014. "Schooling, Violent Conflict, and Gender in Burundi," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(2), pages 384-411.
    14. Miguel, Edward & Roland, Gérard, 2011. "The long-run impact of bombing Vietnam," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 1-15, September.
    15. Christopher Blattman & Jeannie Annan, 2010. "The Consequences of Child Soldiering," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(4), pages 882-898, November.
    16. Angrist, Joshua D, 1996. "Short-Run Demand for Palestinian Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(3), pages 425-453, July.
    17. Di Maio, Michele & Nandi, Tushar K., 2013. "The effect of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict on child labor and school attendance in the West Bank," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 107-116.
    18. Sami Miaari & Asaf Zussman & Noam Zussman, 2012. "Ethnic conflict and job separations," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 419-437, January.
    19. Cogan, John F, 1981. "Fixed Costs and Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(4), pages 945-963, June.
    20. Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau, Eva & van Ommeren, Jos N., 2010. "Labour supply and commuting," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 82-89, July.
    21. Tom Bundervoet & Philip Verwimp & Richard Akresh, 2009. "Health and Civil War in Rural Burundi," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(2).
    22. World Bank, 2011. "Building the Palestinian State," World Bank Publications - Reports 27796, The World Bank Group.
    23. Nathaniel Baum-Snow, 2010. "Changes in Transportation Infrastructure and Commuting Patterns in US Metropolitan Areas, 1960-2000," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 378-382, May.
    24. Patacchini, Eleonora & Zenou, Yves, 2005. "Spatial mismatch, transport mode and search decisions in England," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 62-90, July.
    25. Eva Gutierrez-i-Puigarnau & Jos van Ommeren, 2009. "Labour Supply and Commuting: Implications for Optimal Road Taxes," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 09-008/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    26. Donaldson, Dave, 2010. "Railroads of the Raj: estimating the impact of transportation infrastructure," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 38368, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    27. Dave Donaldson, 2010. "Railroads of the Raj: Estimating the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure," NBER Working Papers 16487, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    28. Rosa Sanchis-Guarner, 2012. "Driving Up Wages: The Effects of Road Construction in Great Britain," SERC Discussion Papers 0120, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    29. Efraim Benmelech & Claude Berrebi & Esteban F. Klor, 2010. "The Economic Cost of Harboring Terrorism," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 54(2), pages 331-353, April.
    30. World Bank, 2011. "Coping with Conflict? Poverty and Inclusion in the West Bank and Gaza," World Bank Publications - Reports 2774, The World Bank Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hendrik Jürges & Luca Stella & Sameh Hallaq & Alexandra Schwarz, 2022. "Cohort at risk: long-term consequences of conflict for child school achievement," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(1), pages 1-43, January.
    2. Michele Di Maio & Valerio Leone Sciabolazza, 2021. "Conflict exposure and health: Evidence from the Gaza Strip," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(9), pages 2287-2295, September.
    3. Fallah, Belal, 2021. "The effect of the public sector on private jobs: Evidence from the West Bank," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    4. Di Maio, Michele & Nisticò, Roberto, 2019. "The effect of parental job loss on child school dropout: Evidence from the Occupied Palestinian Territories," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    5. Nethra Palaniswamy & Aziz Atamanov, 2019. "Poverty Map of the Palestinian Territories," World Bank Publications - Reports 33374, The World Bank Group.
    6. Hala Aburas & Isam Shahrour, 2021. "Impact of the Mobility Restrictions in the Palestinian Territory on the Population and the Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Jürges Hendrik & Westermaier Franz G., 2020. "Conflict Intensity and Birth Outcomes – Evidence from the West Bank," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(2), pages 1-8, April.
    8. Adnan, Wifag, 2015. "Who gets to cross the border? The impact of mobility restrictions on labor flows in the West Bank," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 86-99.
    9. Saad, Ayhab F. & Fallah, Belal, 2020. "How educational choices respond to large labor market shocks: Evidence from a natural experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Belal Fallah, 2017. "The Economic Response of Rural Areas to Local Supply Shock: Evidence From Palestine," Working Papers 1108, Economic Research Forum, revised 06 2017.
    11. Francesco Amodio & Michele Di Maio, "undated". "Making Do with What You Have: Conflict, Firm Performance and Input Misallocation in Palestine," Development Working Papers 379, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    12. Bilal Nabeel Falah & Marcelo Bérgolo & Arwa Abu Hashhash & Mohammad Hattawy & Iman Saadeh, 2019. "The Effect of Labor-Demand Shocks on Women’s Participation in the Labor Force: Evidence from Palestine," Working Papers PMMA 2019-08, PEP-PMMA.
    13. Sameh Hallaq, 2019. "Wage Differential between Palestinian Non-refugees and Palestinian Refugees in the West Bank and Gaza," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_941, Levy Economics Institute.
    14. Di Maio, Michele & Leone Sciabolazza, Valerio, 2023. "Conflict exposure and labour market outcomes: Evidence from longitudinal data for the Gaza Strip," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).

    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. Hendrik Jürges & Luca Stella & Sameh Hallaq & Alexandra Schwarz, 2022. "Cohort at risk: long-term consequences of conflict for child school achievement," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(1), pages 1-43, January.
    2. Di Maio, Michele & Nisticò, Roberto, 2019. "The effect of parental job loss on child school dropout: Evidence from the Occupied Palestinian Territories," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    3. Dominic Rohner, 2022. "Conflict, Civil Wars and Human Development," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 22.08, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    4. Francesco Amodio & Michele Di Maio, "undated". "Making Do with What You Have: Conflict, Firm Performance and Input Misallocation in Palestine," Development Working Papers 379, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    5. Rosa Sanchis-Guarner, 2012. "Driving Up Wages: The Effects of Road Construction in Great Britain," SERC Discussion Papers 0120, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    6. Achyuta Adhvaryu & James Fenske, 2013. "War, resilience and political engagement in Africa," CSAE Working Paper Series 2013-08, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    7. Saad, Ayhab F. & Fallah, Belal, 2020. "How educational choices respond to large labor market shocks: Evidence from a natural experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    8. Achyuta Adhvaryu & James Fenske, 2023. "Conflict and the Formation of Political Beliefs in Africa," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(2), pages 403-442.
    9. Hönig, Tillman, 2017. "The Impact of Peace: Evidence from Nigeria," MPRA Paper 83302, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Amr Ragab & Ayhab F. Saad, 2023. "The effects of a negative economic shock on male marriage in the West Bank," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 789-814, September.
    11. Sameh Hallaq, 2020. "The Palestinian Labor Market over the Last Three Decades," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_976, Levy Economics Institute.
    12. Sameh Hallaq, 2019. "Wage Differential between Palestinian Non-refugees and Palestinian Refugees in the West Bank and Gaza," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_941, Levy Economics Institute.
    13. Ceren Baysan & Marshall Burke & Felipe González & Solomon Hsiang & Edward Miguel, 2018. "Economic and Non-Economic Factors in Violence: Evidence from Organized Crime, Suicides and Climate in Mexico," NBER Working Papers 24897, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Mounu Prem & Juan F. Vargas & Olga Namen, 2023. "The Human Capital Peace Dividend," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(3), pages 962-1002.
    15. Brück, Tilman & Justino, Patricia & Verwimp, Philip & Avdeenko, Alexandra, 2010. "Identifying Conflict and Violence in Micro-Level Surveys," IZA Discussion Papers 5067, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Etkes, Haggay, 2011. "The impact of employment in Israel on the Palestinian labor force (2005–08)," MPRA Paper 34681, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Odozi, John Chiwuzulum & Oyelere, Ruth Uwaifo, 2019. "Conflict Exposure and Economic Welfare in Nigeria," GLO Discussion Paper Series 334, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Christopher Blattman & Edward Miguel, 2010. "Civil War," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(1), pages 3-57, March.
    19. Breinlich, Holger & Ottaviano, Gianmarco I.P. & Temple, Jonathan R.W., 2014. "Regional Growth and Regional Decline," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 4, pages 683-779, Elsevier.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Conflict; Palestine; Israel; mobility; closures; Intifada;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J40 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - General
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:hic:wpaper:130. 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: Tilman Brück or the person in charge or the person in charge or the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hicn.org/ .

    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.