Ratio Working Paper No. 244: Internal Migration and Human Capital Theory: To What Extent Is It Selective
Ratio Working Paper No. 244
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Empirical studies of international labor migration, modelling average outcomes, suggest migrants move to enhance returns to their labor. In contrast, major international surveys show less than a third of internal migrants as motivated by employment reasons. Using Swedish panel data for the years 2001-2009, this paper addresses this disconnect by examining the full distribution of migrant income changes. Results from initial CEM matching and quantile regression suggest that large returns to internal migration are mostly captured by the higher educated. Much if not most of migration outcomes are however a wash and indeed often negative in terms of pay – off. This suggests models of average outcomes as insufficient in addressing human capital motivated migration.
Related content: Internal Migration and Human Capital Theory: To What Extent Is It Selective
Korpi, M. & Clark, W. A. V. (2014). Internal Migration and Human Capital Theory: To What Extent Is It Selective. Ratio Working Paper No. 244.