Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Giovanni Peri
Author-Name-First: Giovanni
Author-Name-Last: Peri
Author-Name: Francesc Ortega
Author-Name-First: Francesc
Author-Name-Last: Ortega
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Economics, University of California Davis
Title: The Role of Income and Immigration Policies in Attracting International Migrants
Abstract: This paper makes two contributions to the literature on the determinants of international migration
 flows. First, we compile a new dataset on annual bilateral migration flows covering 15
 OECD destination countries and 120 sending countries for the period 1980-2006. We also collect
 data on time-varying immigration policies that regulate the entry of immigrants for our destination
 countries over this period. Second, we extend the empirical model of migration choice across multiple
 destinations developed by Grogger and Hanson (2011) by allowing for unobserved individual
 heterogeneity between migrants and non-migrants. Our estimates show that international migration
 flows are highly responsive to income per capita at destination. This elasticity is twice as high
 for within-EU migration, reflecting the higher degree of labor mobility within the European Union.
 We also find that tightening of laws regulating immigrant entry reduce rapidly and significantly
 their flow.
Length: 32
File-URL: https://repec.dss.ucdavis.edu/files/9Lge2ks5BxiDMXM7exSgvrV5/12-14.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Number: 143
Classification-JEL: F22, E25, J61
KeyWords: International Migration, Labor Movements, Immigration Policies.
Creation-Date: 20120606
Handle: RePEc:cda:wpaper:143