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Does working abroad affect political opinions? Evidence from Moldova

Author

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  • Ruxanda Berlinschi

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of work experience abroad on political opinions using survey data from Moldova, a former soviet republic caught in an ideological battle between Russia and the West, with high emigration rates to both destinations. Contrarily to studies conducted in Africa or Latin America, we find no effect of past migration on democratic participation or on critical governance assessment. Likewise, no effect is found on domestic policy preferences. The one dimension strongly associated with migration experience is geopolitical preference, whereby return migrants from former Soviet countries are more likely to support closer ties with Russia, while return migrants from Western countries show higher support for EU integration, controlling for economic, demographic and ethnic confounding factors. For identification, we instrument individual migration with district level migrant networks. IV regressions show that only work experience in Western countries affects geopolitical preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruxanda Berlinschi, 2016. "Does working abroad affect political opinions? Evidence from Moldova," LICOS Discussion Papers 38316, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    • Handle: RePEc:lic:licosd:38316
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    File URL: http://feb.kuleuven.be/drc/licos/publications/dp/DP%20383%20Complete.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Ruxanda Berlinschi & Ani Harutyunyan, 2016. "Do migrants think differently? Evidence from East European and post-Soviet states," LICOS Discussion Papers 38116, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    2. Ruxanda Berlinschi & Jan Fidrmuc, 2018. "Comfort and Conformity: A Culture-based Theory of Migration," CESifo Working Paper Series 7294, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    return migration; political opinions; Moldova; survey data.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P3 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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