The Selection of High-Skilled Migrants

Jens Ruhose (), Matthias Parey, Fabian Waldinger and Nicolai Netz

VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy from Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association

Abstract: We investigate international migration choices of high-skilled individuals and measure migrant selection using predicted earnings. High-skilled migrants select to destinations as predicted by Borjas' (1987) model of migration choices. Migrants to less equal countries are positively selected, while migrants to more equal countries are negatively selected, relative to non-migrants. For our analysis, we use a survey of university graduates, including detailed information on background characteristics, university studies, and labor market choices, combined with measures of earnings inequality for high-skilled individuals in destination countries. Our rich data allow us to decompose the observed selection patterns. Positive selection to less equal countries is driven by university quality and grades. Negative selection to more equal countries is driven by university subject and gender. Our results highlight the relevance of the Roy/Borjas model for high-skilled individuals in a setting where credit constraints and other barriers to migration are unlikely to be binding.

JEL-codes: F22 J24 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/113148/1/VfS_2015_pid_69.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The Selection of High-Skilled Emigrants (2017)
Working Paper: The Selection of High-Skilled Emigrants (2017)
Working Paper: The selection of high-skilled emigrants (2017)
Working Paper: The Selection of High-Skilled Emigrants (2017)
Working Paper: The Selection of High-Skilled Migrants (2015)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:vfsc15:113148

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy from Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics ().