International Migration: Driver of Political and Social Change?

Michele Tuccio (), Jackline Wahba and Bachir Hamdouch ()
Additional contact information
Michele Tuccio: University of Southampton
Bachir Hamdouch: University Mohammed V - Agdal Rabat

No 9794, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper focuses on the impact of international migration on the transfer of political and social norms. Exploiting recent and unique data on Morocco, it explores whether households with return and current migrants bear different political preferences and behaviours than non-migrant families. Once controlling for the double selection into emigration and return migration, findings suggest that having a returnee in the household increases the demand for political and social change, driven by returnees mostly from Western European countries, who have been exposed to more democratic norms at destination. However, we find a negative impact of having a current migrant on the willingness to change of the left-behind household, driven by migrants to non-West countries, where the quality of political and social institutions are lower. Our results are robust to also controlling for destination selectivity. Finally, findings suggest that migration not only affect political attitudes but also actual behaviour: regions with higher returnee shares have had greater participation rates in the 2011 political elections.

Keywords: international migration; political change; transfer of norms; Morocco (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 F22 O15 O55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2016-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-int, nep-mig and nep-pol
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

Published - published as 'International migration as a driver of political and social change: evidence from Morocco' in: Journal of Population Economics, 2019, 32, 1171 - 120

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Related works:
Working Paper: International Migration as Driver of Political and Social Change: Evidence from Morocco (2019)
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