Skill Transferability, Migration, and Development: Evidence from Population Resettlement in Indonesia

Samuel Bazzi, Arya Gaduh, Alexander Rothenberg and Maisy Wong

No wp2015-026, Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series from Boston University - Department of Economics

Abstract: We use a natural experiment in Indonesia to provide causal evidence on the role of location-specific human capital and skill transferability in shaping the spatial distribution of productivity. From 1979– 1988, the Transmigration Program relocated two million migrants from rural Java and Bali to new rural settlements in the Outer Islands. Villages assigned migrants from regions with more similar agroclimatic endowments exhibit higher rice productivity and nighttime light intensity one to two decades later. We find some evidence of migrants’ adaptation to agroclimatic change. Overall, our re- sults suggest that regional productivity differences may overstate the potential gains from migration.

Keywords: Internal Migration; Comparative Advantage; Spatial Labor Allocation; Agricultural Adaptation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J43 J61 O12 O13 O15 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-mig, nep-sea and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Journal Article: Skill Transferability, Migration, and Development: Evidence from Population Resettlement in Indonesia (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bos:wpaper:wp2015-026

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