Upward or downward: Occupational mobility and return migration

Nelly El-Mallakh and Jackline Wahba
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Nelly Elmallakh ()

World Development, 2021, vol. 137, issue C

Abstract: This paper examines whether temporary international migration enables returnees to climb the occupational ladder. Using data from Egypt, we examine the occupational mobility of returnees relative to non-migrants of the same birth cohort. We rely on an instrumental variable approach to control for the endogeneity of the temporary migration decision. We find evidence that return migration increases the probability of upward occupational mobility and leads to larger effects among highly educated returnees. Our results are robust to using a Difference-in-Differences matching technique that controls for unobserved heterogeneity between non-migrants and returnees. Our findings underscore that temporary overseas work experience can alleviate potential brain drain concerns through the human capital enhancement of return migrants.

Keywords: Return migration; Occupational mobility; Egypt; Middle East and North Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J62 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Upward or Downward: Occupational Mobility and Return Migration (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:137:y:2021:i:c:s0305750x20303302

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105203

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