Migration and the epidemiological approach: time and self-selection into foreign ancestries matter

Simone Bertoli, Melchior Clerc, Jordan Loper () and Èric Roca Fernández ()
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Jordan Loper: CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne
Èric Roca Fernández: CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne

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Abstract: Data on individuals of immigrant origin are used in the epidemiological approach in comparative development for understanding cultural persistence, the determinants of cultural norms, and the effects of genetic traits. A widespread presumption is that this approach is exposed to attenuation bias. We describe how the increasing reliance on foreign ancestries to identify respondents' origin can invalidate this presumption. Self-selection into reporting a foreign ancestry and unobserved heterogeneity in the time elapsed since ancestral migration can overestimate the effect of interest. A simple theoretical framework describes the joint influence of these two factors on the estimates obtained from a canonical specification. We provide illustrative examples of the empirical relevance of our concerns drawing on two influential papers in the literature: Fernández and Fogli (2006) and Giuliano and Nunn (2021).

Keywords: Comparative development; Migration; Ancestry; Culture; Identity choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-11-25
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://cnrs.hal.science/hal-04801563v1
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Related works:
Working Paper: Migration and the epidemiological approach: time and self-selection into foreign ancestries matter (2024)
Working Paper: Migration and the epidemiological approach: time and self-selection into foreign ancestries matter (2024)
Working Paper: Migration and the epidemiological approach: time and self-selection into foreign ancestries matter (2024)
Working Paper: Migration and the epidemiological approach: time and self-selection into foreign ancestries matter (2024)
Working Paper: Migration and the Epidemiological Approach: Time and Self-Selection into Foreign Ancestries Matter (2024)
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