With having in mind the effect of high- and low-skilled migration for economic prosperity, this study empirically tests with immigration data from 20 countries from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1985 to 2010 the effect of inequality in a receiving country on high- and low-skilled migration to this country, so that the research question that this study seeks to answer is: Does economic inequality influence the immigration of high- and low-skilled individuals?
In the broad context of the study of economic inequality within societies, one of the most prominent topics is the relationship between inequality and economic prosperity of a country, which is studied by many authors such as Kenworthy (2003) or Wren (2013). With this study, I want to contribute to this research by focusing on one possible mechanism within the inequality-economic prosperity relationship, namely migration. Attracting and retaining highly qualified people is crucial to the development of a knowledge-based economy in which ideas and innovation drive technological and social progress. Moreover, the perception and acceptance of immigration within a society are largely shaped by the skill level of immigrants.
Understanding how high-skilled people and in contrast, how low-skilled people choose their country of destination when migrating is, therefore, crucial – for sending and receiving countries alike. Migration and especially cross-border migration is a highly complex topic and the individual decision to migrate is influenced by a multitude of drivers. However, when looking at the differences between high- and low-skilled migrations, economic drivers are especially important, because more than for other drivers such as political or social drivers they affect high- and low-skilled people differently.
Assuming that migration is at least partly determined by the desire to realize economic opportunities abroad and assuming that high-skilled migrants should benefit from the opportunities in less equal destination countries, while low-skilled migrants should benefit from a compressed wage distribution in more equal destination countries, a stream of literature, building on Borjas (1987), studies the relationship between inequality in sending and receiving countries and the consequences for high- and low-skilled migration.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review and Theory
3. Empirics
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Topics
This research paper investigates whether economic inequality within a destination country influences the composition of immigration by skill level, specifically analyzing the decision-making process of high- and low-skilled migrants.
- Theoretical link between economic inequality and migration aspirations.
- Empirical analysis of migration flows across 20 OECD countries.
- Comparison of drivers for high-skilled versus low-skilled labor migration.
- Evaluation of the Roy-Borjas model of migrant selection.
- Examination of economic prosperity as a factor in international migration patterns.
Excerpt from the Book
1. Introduction
In the broad context of the study of economic inequality within societies, one of the most prominent topics is the relationship between inequality and economic prosperity of a country, which is studied by many authors such as Kenworthy (2003) or Wren (2013). With this study, I want to contribute to this research by focusing on one possible mechanism within the inequality-economic prosperity relationship, namely migration. Attracting and retaining highly qualified people is crucial to the development of a knowledge-based economy in which ideas and innovation drive technological and social progress. Moreover, the perception and acceptance of immigration within a society are largely shaped by the skill level of immigrants. Understanding how high-skilled people and in contrast, how low-skilled people choose their country of destination when migrating is, therefore, crucial – for sending and receiving countries alike.
Migration and especially cross-border migration is a highly complex topic and the individual decision to migrate is influenced by a multitude of drivers. However, when looking at the differences between high- and low-skilled migrations, economic drivers are especially important, because more than for other drivers such as political or social drivers they affect high- and low-skilled people differently. Moreover, Parey et al. (2018) point out, that studying high-skilled migrants is theoretically interesting because this group usually faces the lowest migration barriers and thus for this group the individual internal motivation should be most relevant for their migration decisions.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the research topic regarding the relationship between economic inequality and the skill level of migrants, outlining the motivation and the central research question.
2. Literature Review and Theory: This section builds upon existing migration theories, specifically the push-pull model and the Roy-Borjas model, to formulate two hypotheses regarding how inequality impacts migrant selection.
3. Empirics: This chapter details the empirical methodology, including the use of fixed-effects panel regression models and OECD data to test the proposed hypotheses.
4. Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes the research findings, noting the lack of statistically significant results while highlighting the tendency observed in the data and providing suggestions for future research.
Keywords
Economic inequality, migration, high-skilled, low-skilled, Roy-Borjas model, OECD, Gini coefficient, migration aspirations, labor market, migrant selection, economic prosperity, panel regression, cross-border migration, skill level, destination country.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines whether the level of economic inequality in a destination country affects the skill composition of incoming migrants, specifically looking at high- versus low-skilled individuals.
What are the central themes covered in the study?
The themes include migration theory, the influence of income distribution on migration flows, the Roy-Borjas selection model, and the differentiation between various skill groups in global migration.
What is the primary research question?
The study seeks to answer: "Does economic inequality influence the immigration of high- and low-skilled individuals?"
Which scientific method is employed?
The author uses country-year data and fixed-effects panel regression models to analyze migration stocks across 20 OECD countries from 1980 to 2010.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The main body covers the theoretical framework, the operationalization of variables such as the Gini coefficient, and the empirical testing of two hypotheses through regression analysis.
Which keywords best characterize this study?
Key terms include economic inequality, migration, high-skilled vs. low-skilled workers, OECD, and the Roy-Borjas model.
Why are the results for the hypotheses considered weak?
The author notes that the data set is limited, which results in high standard errors and a lack of statistical significance, preventing definitive conclusions.
How does the author distinguish between high- and low-skilled migration decisions?
The paper suggests that low-skilled migrants face higher barriers to entry, meaning their migration is often determined by "where they can go" rather than the economic conditions of the destination country, unlike high-skilled migrants.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Simon Valentin (Autor:in), 2019, Does economic inequality influence the immigration of high- and low-skilled individuals?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/497772
