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Emigration and Democracy

Author Info

Listed author(s):
  • Docquier, Frédéric

    ()

    (Université catholique de Louvain)

  • Lodigiani, Elisabetta

    ()

    (University of Luxembourg)

  • Rapoport, Hillel

    ()

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Schiff, Maurice

    ()

    (World Bank)

Abstract

Migration is an important and yet neglected determinant of institutions. The paper documents the channels through which emigration affects home country institutions and considers dynamic-panel regressions for a large sample of developing countries. We find that emigration and human capital both increase democracy and economic freedom. This implies that unskilled (skilled) emigration has a positive (ambiguous) impact on institutional quality. Simulations show an impact of skilled emigration that is generally positive, significant for a few countries in the short run and for many countries in the long run once incentive effects of emigration on human capital formation are accounted for.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 5496.

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Length: 49 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2011
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5496
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Keywords: institutions; democracy; diaspora effects; migration; brain drain;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
  • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

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  1. Migration and democracy
    by nawmsayn in ZeeConomics on 2014-03-05 20:44:19
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