IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/lis/liswps/718.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Effect of Attitudes toward Migrants on Migrant Skill Composition

Author

Listed:
  • Besart Avdiu

Abstract

I investigate the effect of attitudes toward migrants on the average skill composition of immigrants in destination countries. A model is presented showing that negative attitudes toward migrants can reduce the average skill composition. The intuition for the result is that the highly skilled are more mobile and hence more sensitive to negative attitudes. To test the hypothesis, I use survey data on attitudes toward migrants as well as data on migrant stocks by education level and origin country. The empirical analysis is based on two classes of theoretical models and I find consistent evidence for the hypothesis that more positive attitudes increase the skill composition of immigrants. The results imply that general attitudes toward migrants can be relevant for policies seeking to attract highly skilled migrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Besart Avdiu, 2018. "The Effect of Attitudes toward Migrants on Migrant Skill Composition," LIS Working papers 718, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:718
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.lisdatacenter.org/wps/liswps/718.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gordon B. Dahl, 2002. "Mobility and the Return to Education: Testing a Roy Model with Multiple Markets," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(6), pages 2367-2420, November.
    2. Tito Boeri, 2010. "Immigration to the Land of Redistribution," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(308), pages 651-687, October.
    3. Cédric Gorinas & Mariola Pytliková, 2017. "The Influence of Attitudes toward Immigrants on International Migration," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 416-451, June.
    4. Francesc Ortega & Giovanni Peri, 2009. "The Causes and Effects of International Labor Mobility: Evidence from OECD Countries 1980-2005," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2009-06, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), revised Apr 2009.
    5. Docquier, Frédéric & Rapoport, Hillel & Salomone, Sara, 2012. "Remittances, migrants' education and immigration policy: Theory and evidence from bilateral data," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 817-828.
    6. Francesc Ortega & Giovanni Peri, 2009. "The Causes and Effects of International Migrations: Evidence from OECD Countries 1980-2005," NBER Working Papers 14833, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Christian Dustmann & Joseph-Simon Görlach, 2016. "The Economics of Temporary Migrations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(1), pages 98-136, March.
    8. Mathias Czaika & Christopher R. Parsons, 2017. "The Gravity of High-Skilled Migration Policies," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(2), pages 603-630, April.
    9. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    10. Waisman, Gisela & Larsen, Birthe, 2007. "Do attitudes towards immigrants matter?," Working Papers 11-2007, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Economics.
    11. Cynthia Feliciano, 2005. "Educational selectivity in U.S. Immigration: How do immigrants compare to those left behind?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 42(1), pages 131-152, February.
    12. Richard B. Freeman & Remco H. Oostendorp, 2002. "Wages Around the World: Pay across Occupations and Countries," International Economic Association Series, in: Richard B. Freeman (ed.), Inequality Around the World, chapter 2, pages 5-37, Palgrave Macmillan.
    13. Guido Friebel & Juan Gallego & Mariapia Mendola, 2013. "Xenophobic attacks, migration intentions, and networks: evidence from the South of Africa," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(2), pages 555-591, April.
    14. Anna Maria Mayda, 2006. "Who Is Against Immigration? A Cross-Country Investigation of Individual Attitudes toward Immigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(3), pages 510-530, August.
    15. George J. Borjas, 2008. "Labor Outflows and Labor Inflows in Puerto Rico," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 32-68.
    16. Borjas, George J. & Freeman, Richard B. (ed.), 1992. "Immigration and the Work Force," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226066332, June.
    17. Anna Damm, 2009. "Determinants of recent immigrants’ location choices: quasi-experimental evidence," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 22(1), pages 145-174, January.
    18. A. D. Roy, 1951. "Some Thoughts On The Distribution Of Earnings," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 135-146.
    19. Andreas Knabe & Steffen Rätzel & Stephan L. Thomsen, 2013. "Right-Wing Extremism and the Well-Being of Immigrants," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(4), pages 567-590, November.
    20. Dustmann, Christian & Preston, Ian, 2001. "Attitudes to Ethic Minorities, Ethnic Context and Location Decisions," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(470), pages 353-373, April.
    21. Zaiceva, A. & Zimmermann, K.F., 2016. "Migration and the Demographic Shift," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 119-177, Elsevier.
    22. Jens Hainmueller & Daniel J. Hopkins, 2015. "The Hidden American Immigration Consensus: A Conjoint Analysis of Attitudes toward Immigrants," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 59(3), pages 529-548, July.
    23. George A. Akerlof & Rachel E. Kranton, 2000. "Economics and Identity," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(3), pages 715-753.
    24. Kaivan Munshi, 2003. "Networks in the Modern Economy: Mexican Migrants in the U. S. Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(2), pages 549-599.
    25. De Giorgi, Giacomo & Pellizzari, Michele, 2009. "Welfare migration in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 353-363, August.
    26. A. Colin Cameron & Douglas L. Miller, 2015. "A Practitioner’s Guide to Cluster-Robust Inference," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 317-372.
    27. Daniel Chiquiar & Gordon H. Hanson, 2005. "International Migration, Self-Selection, and the Distribution of Wages: Evidence from Mexico and the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(2), pages 239-281, April.
    28. George J. Borjas, 2021. "Self-Selection and the Earnings of Immigrants," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 4, pages 69-91, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    29. Henry, Ruby, 2009. "Does Racism Affect a Migrant's Choice of Destination?," IZA Discussion Papers 4349, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    30. Anna Mayda, 2010. "International migration: a panel data analysis of the determinants of bilateral flows," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 1249-1274, September.
    31. Moulton, Brent R., 1986. "Random group effects and the precision of regression estimates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 385-397, August.
    32. Giovanni Facchini & Anna Maria Mayda, 2009. "Does the Welfare State Affect Individual Attitudes toward Immigrants? Evidence across Countries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(2), pages 295-314, May.
    33. Borjas, George J. & Bronars, Stephen G. & Trejo, Stephen J., 1992. "Self-selection and internal migration in the United States," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 159-185, September.
    34. Fernando Ramos, 1992. "Out-Migration and Return Migration of Puerto Ricans," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration and the Work Force: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, pages 49-66, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    35. Slotwinski, Michaela & Stutzer, Alois, 2015. "The Deterrent Effect of Voting Against Minarets: Identity Utility and Foreigners' Location Choice," IZA Discussion Papers 9497, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    36. Francesc Ortega & Giovanni Peri, 2009. "The Causes and Effects of International Migrations: Evidence from OECD Countries 1980-2005," NBER Working Papers 14833, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    37. Grogger, Jeffrey & Hanson, Gordon H., 2011. "Income maximization and the selection and sorting of international migrants," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 42-57, May.
    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. Tanja Buch & Carola Burkert & Stefan Hell & Annekatrin Niebuhr & Anette Haas, 2025. "Do xenophobic attitudes influence migrant workers’ regional location choice?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(2), pages 1-24, February.

    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. Besart Avdiu, 2018. "The Effect of Attitudes toward Migrants on Migrant Skill Composition," CESifo Working Paper Series 6919, CESifo.
    2. Grogger, Jeffrey & Hanson, Gordon H., 2011. "Income maximization and the selection and sorting of international migrants," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 42-57, May.
    3. Noel Gaston & Douglas R. Nelson, 2013. "Bridging Trade Theory And Labour Econometrics: The Effects Of International Migration," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 98-139, February.
    4. Dustmann, Christian & Glitz, Albrecht, 2011. "Migration and Education," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 327-439, Elsevier.
    5. Bertoli, S. & Fernández-Huertas Moraga, J. & Ortega, F., 2013. "Crossing the border: Self-selection, earnings and individual migration decisions," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 75-91.
    6. Hatton, Timothy J., 2014. "The economics of international migration: A short history of the debate," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 43-50.
    7. 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.
    8. Matthias Parey & Jens Ruhose & Fabian Waldinger & Nicolai Netz, 2017. "The Selection of High-Skilled Emigrants," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(5), pages 776-792, December.
    9. Mariele Macaluso, 2022. "The influence of skill-based policies on the immigrant selection process," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(2), pages 595-621, July.
    10. Michel Beine & Christopher Parsons, 2015. "Climatic Factors as Determinants of International Migration," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 723-767, April.
    11. Hanson, Gordon H., 2010. "International Migration and the Developing World," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4363-4414, Elsevier.
    12. Eva Spring & Volker Grossmann, 2016. "Does bilateral trust across countries really affect international trade and factor mobility?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 103-136, February.
    13. Claudia Lumpe, 2019. "Public beliefs in social mobility and high-skilled migration," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 981-1008, July.
    14. Nina Neubecker & Marcel Smolka & Anne Steinbacher, 2017. "Networks And Selection In International Migration To Spain," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(3), pages 1265-1286, July.
    15. Simone Bertoli & Jesus Fernandez-Huertas Moraga & Francesc Ortega, 2011. "Immigration Policies and the Ecuadorian Exodus," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 25(1), pages 57-76, March.
    16. Francesc Ortega & Giovanni Peri, 2016. "The effect of income and immigration policies on international migration," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Economics of International Migration, chapter 11, pages 333-360, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    17. repec:ipg:wpaper:17 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Michel Beine & Brian B. Burgoon & Mary Crock & Justin Gest & Michael Hiscox & Patrick McGovern & Hillel Rapoport & Eiko Thielemann, 2015. "Measuring Immigration Policies: Preliminary Evidence from IMPALA," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 61(3-4), pages 527-559.
    19. Alberto Alesina & Johann Harnoss & Hillel Rapoport, 2016. "Birthplace diversity and economic prosperity," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 101-138, June.
    20. repec:ipg:wpaper:2013-017 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Luca Marchiori & Jean Francois Maystadt & Ingmar Schumacher, 2013. "Is environmentally," Working Papers 2013-17, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    22. Thomas Steinwachs, 2019. "Geography Matters: Spatial Dimensions of Trade, Migration and Growth," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 81, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • 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:lis:liswps:718. 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: Piotr Paradowski (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lisprlu.html .

    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.