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Unilateral facilitation does not raise international labor migration from the Philippines

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  • Beam, Emily
  • McKenzie, David
  • Yang, Dean

Abstract

Significant income gains from migrating from poorer to richer countries have motivated unilateral (source-country) policies facilitating labor emigration. However, their effectiveness is unknown. The authors conducted a large-scale randomized experiment in the Philippines testing the impact of unilaterally facilitating international labor migration. The most intensive treatment doubled the rate of job offers but had no identifiable effect on international labor migration. Even the highest overseas job-search rate that was induced (22 percent) falls far short of the share initially expressing interest in migrating (34 percent). The paper concludes that unilateral migration facilitation will at most induce a trickle, not a flood, of additional emigration.

Suggested Citation

  • Beam, Emily & McKenzie, David & Yang, Dean, 2013. "Unilateral facilitation does not raise international labor migration from the Philippines," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6689, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6689
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. David McKenzie & Dean Yang, 2015. "Evidence on Policies to Increase the Development Impacts of International Migration," World Bank Research Observer, World Bank Group, vol. 30(2), pages 155-192.
    2. Ceriani,Lidia & Verme,Paolo, 2018. "Risk preferences and the decision to flee conflict," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8376, The World Bank.
    3. Mauro Testaverde & Harry Moroz & Claire H. Hollweg & Achim Schmillen, 2017. "Migrating to Opportunity," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 28342, June.
    4. Guriev, Sergei & Vakulenko, Elena, 2015. "Breaking out of poverty traps: Internal migration and interregional convergence in Russia," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 633-649.
    5. Michael A. Clemens, 2014. "Does development reduce migration?," Chapters, in: Robert E.B. Lucas (ed.),International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, chapter 6, pages 152-185, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," World Bank Research Observer, World Bank Group, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    7. Barsbai, Toman, 2018. "Pre-departure policies for migrants' origin countries," PEGNet Policy Briefs 14/2018, PEGNet - Poverty Reduction, Equity and Growth Network, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW).
    8. Clemens, Michael & Pritchett, Lant, 2016. "The New Case for Migration Restrictions: An Assessment," Working Paper Series rwp16-054, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    9. Beam, Emily A., 2016. "Do job fairs matter? Experimental evidence on the impact of job-fair attendance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 32-40.
    10. Clemens, Michael A. & Pritchett, Lant, 2019. "The new economic case for migration restrictions: An assessment," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 153-164.
    11. World Bank, 2016. "Bangladesh Social Protection and Labor Review," World Bank Other Operational Studies 25265, The World Bank.
    12. John Gibson & David McKenzie & Halahingano Rohorua, 2014. "Development Impacts of Seasonal and Temporary Migration: A Review of Evidence from the Pacific and Southeast Asia," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 18-32, January.
    13. Catia Batista & Gaia Narciso, 2018. "Migrant Remittances and Information Flows: Evidence from a Field Experiment," World Bank Economic Review, World Bank Group, vol. 32(1), pages 203-219.
    14. McKenzie, David, 2020. "If it needs a power calculation, does it matter for poverty reduction?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    15. Matthew Groh & David McKenzie & Nour Shammout & Tara Vishwanath, 2015. "Testing the importance of search frictions and matching through a randomized experiment in Jordan," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-20, December.
    16. Costas Meghir & Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak & Ahmed Corina Mommaerts & Ahmed Melanie Morten, 2019. "Migration and Informal Insurance," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 2185, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    17. Michael Clemens, 2014. "Does Development Reduce Migration? - Working Paper 359," Working Papers 359, Center for Global Development.
    18. Sandrine Mesplé-Somps and & Björn Nilsson, 2020. "Role models and migration intentions," Working Paper 519bfbde-8d2e-4e86-bd62-0, Agence française de développement.
    19. Cai, Shu, 2020. "Migration under liquidity constraints: Evidence from randomized credit access in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    20. Costas Meghir & Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak & Corina D. Mommaerts & Melanie Morten, 2019. "Migration and Informal Insurance: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial and a Structural Model," NBER Working Papers 26082, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Beam, Emily A., 2020. "Search Costs and the Determinants of Job Search," IZA Discussion Papers 13793, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Costas Meghir & Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak & Ahmed Corina Mommaerts & Ahmed Melanie Morten, 2019. "Migration and Informal Insurance," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 2185R, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University, revised Aug 2020.
    23. Shrestha, Maheshwor, 2019. "Death scares: How potential work-migrants infer mortality rates from migrant deaths," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    24. Michael Clemens and Timothy N. Ogden, 2014. "Migration as a Strategy for Household Finance: A Research Agenda on Remittances, Payments, and Development- Working Paper 354," Working Papers 354, Center for Global Development.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Population Policies; Labor Markets; Labor Policies; Access to Finance; Voluntary and Involuntary Resettlement;

    JEL classification:

    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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