Manila to Malaysia, Quezon to Qatar: International Migration and the Effects on Origin-Country Human Capital

Type Report
Title Manila to Malaysia, Quezon to Qatar: International Migration and the Effects on Origin-Country Human Capital
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2014
URL http://www.iza.org/conference_files/worldb2014/theoharides_c7993.pdf
Abstract
International migration is a key labor market option for many individuals from developing countries. One way that migration can affect the country of origin is by changing investment in human capital. U sing an original dataset of all new migrant departures from the Philippines between 1992 and 2009 matched to the migrants’ province of origin, I examine the effect of migration demand on province-level secondary school enrollment rates. To isolate exogenous changes in demand, I create a Bartik-style instrument that exploits destination-specific migrant networks across local labor markets. Analysis at the local labor market level accounts for effects of migration on both migrant and non-migrant households. I find that secondary enrollment increases by 2.1% in response to an average year-to-year percent increase in province-level migration demand. For each additional new migrant, 2.8 more children are enrolled. Private school enrollment increases by 10.1%, while the effect on public school enrollment is near zero. These effects can occur through two channels: the income channel or the wage premium channel. Exploiting variation in gender-specific migration demand, I test their relative importance and conclude that the income channel is dominant.

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