The return motivations of legal permanent migrants: Evidence from exchange rate shocks and immigrants in Australia

Paolo Abarcar ()

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2017, vol. 144, issue C, 62-77

Abstract: Why do legal permanent migrants return to their home countries? How do home country conditions influence such a decision? This paper uses exogenous exchange rate shocks arising from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis to distinguish between the motivations of Australian immigrants to return to their home country. A 10 percent favorable shock (a depreciation in a migrant’s home country currency) leads to an almost 10 percent reduced likelihood of return in a two year period. The effect is stronger for those with pre-existing intentions to return, weaker for those undecided, and zero for those who initially desired to stay. These results favor a life-cycle explanation for migrant behavior and reject the theory that migrants are target earners who seek to invest upon return home.

Keywords: Return migration; Exchange rate; Immigrants; Australia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J15 J61 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Return Motivations of Legal Permanent Migrants: Evidence from Exchange Rate Shocks and Immigrants in Australia (2013)
Working Paper: The Return Motivations of Legal Permanent Migrants: Evidence from Exchange Rate Shocks and Immigrants in Australia
Working Paper: The Return Motivations of Legal Permanent Migrants: Evidence from Exchange Rate Shocks and Immigrants in Australia
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:144:y:2017:i:c:p:62-77

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2017.09.025

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