Migration in Puerto Rico: Is There a Brain Drain?

Jaison Abel, Giacomo De Giorgi, Richard Deitz and Harry Wheeler

No 20160809b, Liberty Street Economics from Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Abstract: Given Puerto Rico’s long-term economic malaise and ongoing fiscal crisis, it is no wonder that out-migration of the Island’s residents has picked up. Over the past five years alone, migration has resulted in a net outflow of almost 300,000 people, a staggering loss. It would make matters worse, however, if Puerto Rico were losing an outsized share of its highest-paid workers. But we find that, if anything, Puerto Rico’s migrants are actually tilted somewhat toward the lower end of the skills and earnings spectrum. Still, such a large outflow of potentially productive workers and taxpayers is an alarming trend that is likely to have profound consequences for the Island for years to come.

Keywords: Population Growth; Migration; Human Capital; Puerto Rico (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J00 R1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-08-09
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