Dream killer: Motivations behind illegal migration

Farid Makhlouf and Hammou El Otmany

Research in Economics, 2025, vol. 79, issue 3

Abstract: Illegal migration poses a significant challenge for both sides of the Mediterranean. To understand the motivation behind the intention to migrate illegally from Tunisia, this study, based on a survey conducted by the Arab Barometer in 2021, uses a two-stage Heckman model to control for selection bias and tests different factors such as education levels, social capital, and social networks. The findings show that a lack of education or a low level of education significantly increases the desire to go abroad even without the required documents. This statement is more strongly made by those with relatively low levels of social capital. In addition, social networks were identified as an essential factor in legal migration but do not explain illegal migration.

Keywords: Intention to migrate illegally; Institution; Remittances; Gender; Social capital; Tunisia; Two-step Heckman model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 F24 O15 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:reecon:v:79:y:2025:i:3:s1090944325000407

DOI: 10.1016/j.rie.2025.101063

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