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

Author

Listed:
  • Massimiliano Calì

    () (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 Calì & 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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jürges, Hendrik & Stella, Luca & Hallaq, Sameh & Schwarz, Alexandra, 2017. "Cohort at Risk: Long-Term Consequences of Conflict for Child School Achievement," IZA Discussion Papers 10994, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    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. Michele Di Maio & Roberto Nisticò, 2016. "The Effect of Parental Job Loss on Child School Dropout: Evidence from the Occupied Palestinian Territories," CSEF Working Papers 456, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy, revised 06 Feb 2018.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Conflict; Palestine; Israel; mobility; closures; Intifada;

    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

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