IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ctl/louvir/2009002.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Diasporas

Author

Listed:
  • Michel BEINE

    (UNIVERSITY OF LUXEMBOURG and CES-Ifo)

  • Frederic DOCQUIER

    (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES))

  • Caglar OZDEN

    (WORLD BANK, Development Research Group)

Abstract

Migration flows are shaped by a complex combination of self-selection and out-selection mechanisms. In this paper, we analyze how existing diasporas (the stock of people born in a country and living in an another one) affect the size and human-capital structure of current migration flows. Our analysis exploits a bilateral data set on international migration by educational attainment from 195 countries to 30 OECD countries in 1990 and 2000. Based on simple micro-foundations and controlling for various determinants of migration, we find diasporas increase migration flows, lower their average educational level and lead to higher concentration of low-skill migrants. Interestingly, diasporas explain majority of the variability of migration flows and selection. This suggests that, without changing the generosity of family reution programs, education-based selection rules are likely to have moderate impact. Our results are highly robust to the econometric techniques, accounting for the large proportion of zeros and endogeneity problems

Suggested Citation

  • Michel BEINE & Frederic DOCQUIER & Caglar OZDEN, 2009. "Diasporas," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2009002, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvir:2009002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://sites.uclouvain.be/econ/DP/IRES/2009002.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giovanni Peri & Francesc Ortega, 2009. "The Causes and Effects of International Migrations: Evidence from OECD Countries 1980-2005," Working Papers 78, University of California, Davis, Department of Economics.
    2. George J. Borjas, 2021. "The Economic Benefits from Immigration," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Foundational Essays in Immigration Economics, chapter 13, pages 411-430, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. McFadden, Daniel L., 1984. "Econometric analysis of qualitative response models," Handbook of Econometrics, in: Z. Griliches† & M. D. Intriligator (ed.), Handbook of Econometrics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 24, pages 1395-1457, Elsevier.
    4. Assaf Razin & Jackline Wahba, 2012. "Migration Policy and the Generosity of the Welfare State in Europe," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 9(4), pages 28-31, 02.
    5. Simone Bertoli, 2010. "Networks, Sorting and Self-selection of Ecuadorian Migrants," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 97-98, pages 261-288.
    6. Rachel M. Friedberg & Jennifer Hunt, 1995. "The Impact of Immigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment and Growth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(2), pages 23-44, Spring.
    7. Maurice Kugler & Hillel Rapoport, 2005. "Skilled Emigration, Business Networks and Foreign Direct Investment," CESifo Working Paper Series 1455, CESifo.
    8. Mayer, Thierry & Zignago, Soledad, 2006. "Notes on CEPII’s distances measures," MPRA Paper 26469, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Assaf Razin & Efraim Sadka, 2004. "Welfare Migration: Is the Net Fiscal Burden a Good Measure of its Economic Impact on the Welfare of the Native-Born Population?," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 50(4), pages 709-716.
    10. Abdeslam Marfouk, 2007. "Brain Drain in Developing Countries," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 21(2), pages 193-218, June.
    11. Frédéric Docquier & B. Lindsay Lowell & Abdeslam Marfouk, 2009. "A Gendered Assessment of Highly Skilled Emigration," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(2), pages 297-321, June.
    12. Pedersen, Peder J. & Pytlikova, Mariola & Smith, Nina, 2008. "Selection and network effects--Migration flows into OECD countries 1990-2000," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(7), pages 1160-1186, October.
    13. Carrington, William J & Detragiache, Enrica & Vishwanath, Tara, 1996. "Migration with Endogenous Moving Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 909-930, September.
    14. J. M. C. Santos Silva & Silvana Tenreyro, 2006. "The Log of Gravity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(4), pages 641-658, November.
    15. Alon Cohen & Assaf Razin, 2008. "The Skill Composition of Immigrants and the Generosity of the Welfare State: Free vs. Policy-Controlled Migration," NBER Working Papers 14459, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Kugler, Maurice & Rapoport, Hillel, 2007. "International labor and capital flows: Complements or substitutes?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 155-162, February.
    17. David McKenzie & Hillel Rapoport, 2010. "Self-Selection Patterns in Mexico-U.S. Migration: The Role of Migration Networks," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(4), pages 811-821, November.
    18. George J. Borjas, 1994. "The Economics of Immigration," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(4), pages 1667-1717, December.
    19. Elhanan Helpman & Marc Melitz & Yona Rubinstein, 2008. "Estimating Trade Flows: Trading Partners and Trading Volumes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(2), pages 441-487.
    20. 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.
    21. Gao, Ting, 2003. "Ethnic Chinese networks and international investment: evidence from inward FDI in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4), pages 611-629, August.
    22. Charles F. Manski, 1993. "Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The Reflection Problem," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(3), pages 531-542.
    23. repec:adr:anecst:y:2010:i:97-98:p:12 is not listed on IDEAS
    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. 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.
    26. Casella, Alessandra & Rauch, James E., 2002. "Anonymous market and group ties in international trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 19-47, October.
    27. Nils Petter Gleditsch & Peter Wallensteen & Mikael Eriksson & Margareta Sollenberg & Hã…Vard Strand, 2002. "Armed Conflict 1946-2001: A New Dataset," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 39(5), pages 615-637, September.
    28. Elhanan Helpman & Marc Melitz & Yona Rubinstein, 2006. "Trading Partners and Trading Volumes," DEGIT Conference Papers c011_022, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    29. A. D. Roy, 1951. "Some Thoughts On The Distribution Of Earnings," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 135-146.
    30. James E. Rauch & Vitor Trindade, 2002. "Ethnic Chinese Networks In International Trade," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 116-130, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. World Bank Working Paper: Diasporas
      by Liam Delaney in Geary Behaviour Centre on 2009-11-16 05:40:00

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Volker Grossmann & David Stadelmann, 2012. "Does High-skilled Migration Affect Publicly Financed Investments?," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(5), pages 944-959, November.
    2. Beine, Michel & Docquier, Frédéric & Özden, Çağlar, 2015. "Dissecting Network Externalities In International Migration," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(4), pages 379-408, December.
    3. 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.
    4. Mountford, Andrew & Rapoport, Hillel, 2011. "The brain drain and the world distribution of income," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 4-17, May.
    5. Frédéric Docquier & Hillel Rapoport, 2012. "Globalization, Brain Drain, and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(3), pages 681-730, September.
    6. Naghavi, Alireza & Strozzi, Chiara, 2011. "Intellectual Property Rights, Migration, and Diaspora," Economy and Society 115817, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    7. Frédéric Docquier & Joël Machado & Khalid Sekkat, 2015. "Efficiency Gains from Liberalizing Labor Mobility," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 303-346, April.
    8. Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2013. "Globalized Market for Talents and Inequality: What Can Be Learnt from European Football?," Economic Research Papers 270425, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. Artuc, Erhan & Docquier, Frédéric & Özden, Çaglar & Parsons, Christopher, 2015. "A Global Assessment of Human Capital Mobility: The Role of Non-OECD Destinations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 6-26.
    12. 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.
    13. Volker Grossmann & David Stadelmann, 2013. "Wage Effects of High-Skilled Migration: International Evidence," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 27(2), pages 297-319.
    14. Manchin, Miriam & Orazbayev, Sultan, 2018. "Social networks and the intention to migrate," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 360-374.
    15. Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2017. "Does talent migration increase inequality? A quantitative assessment in football labour market," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 150-166.
    16. Simone Bertoli, 2010. "Networks, Sorting and Self-selection of Ecuadorian Migrants," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 97-98, pages 261-288.
    17. Bertoli Simone & Brücker Herbert, 2011. "Extending the Case for a Beneficial Brain Drain," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 231(4), pages 466-478, August.
    18. Gabriel Felbermayr & Isabella Reczkowski & Gabriel J. Felbermayr, 2012. "International Student Mobility and High-Skilled Migration: The Evidence," ifo Working Paper Series 132, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    19. Bang, James T. & Mitra, Aniruddha, 2011. "Brain drain and institutions of governance: Educational attainment of immigrants to the US 1988-1998," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 335-354, September.

    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. Michel Beine & Frédéric Docquier & Çağlar Özden, 2010. "Diaspora Effects in International Migration: Key Questions and Methodological Issues," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 146(IV), pages 639-659, December.
    2. 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.
    3. Bertoli, Simone & Fernández-Huertas Moraga, Jesús, 2013. "Multilateral resistance to migration," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 79-100.
    4. Frédéric Docquier & Hillel Rapoport, 2012. "Globalization, Brain Drain, and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 50(3), pages 681-730, September.
    5. Milo Bianchi, 2013. "Immigration Policy and Self-Selecting Migrants," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, February.
    6. Michel BEINE & Frédéric DOCQUIER & Caglar,OZDEN, 2015. "Dissecting Network Externalities in International Migration," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(4), pages 379-408, December.
    7. 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.
    8. Jaschke, Philipp & Keita, Sekou, 2021. "Say it like Goethe: Language learning facilities abroad and the self-selection of immigrants," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    9. Jasmin Katrin Gröschl, 2013. "Gravity Model Applications and Macroeconomic Perspectives," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 48.
    10. Ariu, Andrea & Docquier, Frédéric & Squicciarini, Mara P., 2016. "Governance quality and net migration flows," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 238-248.
    11. Simone Bertoli & Hillel Rapoport, 2015. "Heaven's Swing Door: Endogenous Skills, Migration Networks, and the Effectiveness of Quality-Selective Immigration Policies," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 565-591, April.
    12. Michel Beine & Pauline Bourgeon & Jean‐Charles Bricongne, 2019. "Aggregate Fluctuations and International Migration," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(1), pages 117-152, January.
    13. Gianluca Orefice, 2015. "International migration and trade agreements: The new role of PTAs," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 48(1), pages 310-334, February.
    14. 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.
    15. Simone Bertoli & Ilse Ruyssen, 2018. "Networks and migrants’ intended destination," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(4), pages 705-728.
    16. 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.
    17. Marcus H. Böhme & Sarah Kups, 2017. "The economic effects of labour immigration in developing countries: A literature review," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 335, OECD Publishing.
    18. 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.
    19. Bredtmann, Julia & Nowotny, Klaus & Otten, Sebastian, 2020. "Linguistic distance, networks and migrants’ regional location choice," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    20. Nicole B. Simpson & Chad Sparber, 2013. "The Short‐ and Long‐Run Determinants of Less‐Educated Immigrant Flows into U.S. States," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 80(2), pages 414-438, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Migration; self-selection; network-diaspora externalities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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

    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:ctl:louvir:2009002. 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: Virginie LEBLANC (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iruclbe.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.