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Do Migrants Improve Governance at Home? Evidence from a Voting Experiment

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  • Batista, Catia

    (Nova School of Business and Economics)

  • Vicente, Pedro C.

    (Nova School of Business and Economics)

Abstract

This paper tests the hypothesis that international migration experiences may promote better institutions at home by raising the demand for political accountability. In order to examine this question, we use a simple postcard voting experiment designed to capture the population’s desire for better governance. Using data from a tailored household survey, we examine the determinants of voting behavior in our experiment, and isolate the positive effect of international emigration on the demand for political accountability. We find that this effect can be mainly attributed to the presence of return migrants, particularly to those who emigrated to countries with better governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Batista, Catia & Vicente, Pedro C., 2010. "Do Migrants Improve Governance at Home? Evidence from a Voting Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 4688, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4688
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sub-Saharan Africa; Cape Verde; institutions; effects of emigration in origin countries; political accountability; household survey; governance; international migration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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