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Why is the Roy-Borjas model unable to predict international migrant selection on education? Evidence from urban and rural Mexico

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  • Leopold, Stefan
  • Ruhose, Jens
  • Wiederhold, Simon

Abstract

The Roy-Borjas model predicts that international migrants are less educated than nonmigrants because the returns to education are generally higher in developing (migrant-sending) than in developed (migrant-receiving) countries. However, empirical evidence often shows the opposite. Using the case of Mexico-U.S. migration, we show that this inconsistency between predictions and empirical evidence can be resolved when the human capital of migrants is assessed using a two-dimensional measure of occupational skills rather than by educational attainment. Thus, focusing on a single skill dimension when investigating migrant selection can lead to misleading conclusions about the underlying economic incentives and behavioral models of migration.

Suggested Citation

  • Leopold, Stefan & Ruhose, Jens & Wiederhold, Simon, 2023. "Why is the Roy-Borjas model unable to predict international migrant selection on education? Evidence from urban and rural Mexico," IWH Discussion Papers 16/2023, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:162023
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    1. Caroline Neuber-Pohl & Damiano Pregaldini & Uschi Backes-Gellner & Sandra Dummert & Harald Pfeifer, 2023. "How negative labor supply shocks affect training in firms: Lessons from opening the Swiss-German border," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0203, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW), revised Nov 2023.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    education; international migration; occupational skills; selection;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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