Does development reduce migration?

Michael Clemens

Chapter 6 in International Handbook on Migration and Economic Development, 2014, pp 152-185 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The most basic economic theory suggests that rising incomes in developing countries will deter emigration from those countries, an idea that captivates policymakers in international aid and trade diplomacy. A lengthy literature and recent data suggest something quite different: that over the course of a “mobility transition”, emigration generally rises with economic development until countries reach upper-middle income, and only thereafter falls. This note quantifies the shape of the mobility transition in every decade since 1960. It then briefly surveys 45 years of research, which has yielded six classes of theory to explain the mobility transition and numerous tests of its existence and characteristics in both macro- and micro-level data. The note concludes by suggesting five questions that require further study.

Keywords: Development Studies; Economics and Finance; Politics and Public Policy Urban and Regional Studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (45)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Does Development Reduce Migration? (2016)
Working Paper: Does Development Reduce Migration? (2014)
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