Dissecting Network Externalities in International Migration

Michel Beine, Frédéric Docquier and Caglar Özden ()
Additional contact information
Caglar Özden: World Bank, Development Research Group, United States

No 2011022, LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

Abstract: Existing migrant networks play an important role in explaining the size and structure of immigration flows. They affect the net benefits of migration by reducing assimilation costs (’self-selection channel’) and by lowering legal entry barriers through family reunification programs (’immigration policy channel’). This paper presents an identification strategy allowing to disentangle the relative importance of these two channels. Then, it provides an empirical analysis based on US immigration data by metropolitan area and country of origin. First, we show that the overall network externality is strong: the elasticity of migration flows to network size is around one. Second, only a quarter of this elasticity is accounted for by the policy channel. Third, the policy channel was stronger in the 1990s than in the 1980s as the family reunification programs became more effective with growing diasporas. Fourth, the overall diaspora effect and the policy channel are more important for low-skilled migrants.

Keywords: Migration; network/diaspora externalities; Immigration policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 20
Date: 2011-06-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mig
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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http://sites.uclouvain.be/econ/DP/IRES/2011022.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Dissecting Network Externalities in International Migration (2015)
Journal Article: DISSECTING NETWORK EXTERNALITIES IN INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION* (2015)
Working Paper: Dissecting Network Externalities in International Migration (2011)
Working Paper: Dissecting Network Externalities in International Migration (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvir:2011022

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