SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

A framework that yields different possible patterns of migration as optimal solutions to a simple utility maximization problem is presented and explored. It is shown that seasonal migration arises as an optimal endogenous response to a comparison of costs (of living and of separation) and returns (to work) over a set of three alternative options, even if a year-long migration is feasible.

International Migration and "Educated Unemployment"

Palavras-chave: Labor and Human Capital.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/7124

This paper provides a novel explanation of "educated unemployment," which is a salient feature of the labor markets in a number of developing countries. In a simple job-search framework we show that "educated unemployment" is caused by the perspective of international migration, that is, by the possibility of a "brain drain." In addition, the analysis shows that a developing country may end up with more educated workers despite the brain drain and educated unemployment.

Why would some migrants choose to engage in degrading work?

Palavras-chave: Labor and Human Capital.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/7126

This paper develops a model of voluntary migration into degrading work. The essence of the model is a tension between two “bads:” that which arises from being relatively deprived at home, and that which arises from engaging in humiliating work away from home. Balancing between these two “bads” can give rise to an explicit, voluntary choice to engage in humiliating work. The paper identifies conditions under which a migrant will choose to engage in degrading work rather than being forced into it, to work abroad as a prostitute, say, rather than on a farm. The paper delineates the possible equilibria and finds that greater relative deprivation will make it more likely that the equilibrium outcome will be “engagement in prostitution.” It is shown that under...

A Reluctance to Assimilate

Palavras-chave: Migrants; Relative deprivation; Degrading work; Humiliation; Multiple equilibria; Welfare assessment; Policy implications; Labor and Human Capital; Political Economy; F22; J24; J81.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/101648

Quite often, migrants appear to exert little effort to absorb the mainstream culture and to learn the language of their host society, even though the economic returns (increased productivity and enhanced earnings) to assimilation are high. We show that when interpersonal comparisons affect individuals' wellbeing and when a more intensive assimilation results in migrants' comparing themselves more with the richer natives and less with fellow migrants, then the effort extended to assimilate will be muted.

Rural-to-Urban Migration, Human Capital, and Agglomeration

Palavras-chave: Labor and Human Capital.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/7125

A new general-equilibrium model that links together rural-to-urban migration, the externality effect of the average level of human capital, and agglomeration economies shows that in developing countries, unrestricted rural-to-urban migration reduces the average income of both rural and urban dwellers in equilibrium. Various measures aimed at curtailing rural-to-urban migration by unskilled workers can lead to a Pareto improvement for both the urban and rural dwellers. In addition, the government can raise social welfare by reducing the migration of skilled workers to the city. Moreover, without a restriction on rural-to-urban migration, a government’s efforts to increase educational expenditure and thereby the number of skilled workers may not increase...

The Prospect of Migration, Sticky Wages, and "Educated Unemployment"

Palavras-chave: Community/Rural/Urban Development; Labor and Human Capital.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/7116

An increase in the probability of work abroad, where the returns to schooling are higher than at home, induces more individuals in a developing country to acquire education, which leads to an increase in the supply of educated workers in the domestic labor market. Where there is a sticky wage-rate, the demand for labor at home will be constant. With a rising supply and constant demand, the rate of unemployment of educated workers in the domestic labor market will increase. Thus, the prospect of employment abroad causes involuntary “educated unemployment” at home. A government that is concerned about “educated unemployment” and might therefore be expected to encourage unemployed educated people to migrate will nevertheless, under certain conditions, elect...

A Theory of Migration as a Response to Occupational Stigma

Palavras-chave: Labor and Human Capital; E24; F22; J24; O15.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/98572

Drawing on the literature of occupational status and social distance, a theory is developed of labor migration that is prompted by a desire to avoid “social humiliation.” A closed-economy general equilibrium model that incorporates occupational status and examines the interaction between the goods market and the labor market is constructed. This framework is then extended from a closed, single economy to an open economy setting in a world that consists of two countries or two regions. It is shown that as long as migration can reduce humiliation sufficiently, migration will occur even between two identical economies. Hence, a new model of migration is presented in which migration arises from a wish to reap social exposure gains. The model shows that...

The Brain Drain, "Educated Unemployment," Human Capital Formation, and Economic Betterment

Palavras-chave: Migration; Social distance; Occupational status; Social exposure gains; General equilibrium; Consumer/Household Economics; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Labor and Human Capital; F22; J61; R23.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/55363

Extending both the "harmful brain drain" literature and the "beneficial brain gain" literature, this paper analyzes both the negative and the positive impact of migration by skilled individuals in a unified framework. The paper extends the received literature on the "harmful brain drain" by showing that in the short run, international migration can result in "educated unemployment" and overeducation in developing countries, as well as a brain drain from these countries. A simulation suggests that the costs of "educated unemployment" and overeducation can amount to significant losses for the individuals concerned, who may constitute a substantial proportion of the educated individuals. Adopting a dynamic framework, it is then shown that due to the positive...

Losses and Gains to Developing Countries from the Migration of Educated Workers: An Overview of Recent Research, and New Reflections

Palavras-chave: Labor and Human Capital.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/7122

This paper synthesizes and extends recent research on "The New Economics of the Brain Drain." In a unified framework, the paper shows that while recently identified adverse repercussions of the brain drain exacerbate the long-recognized negative impacts of the brain drain, longer-term consequences turn the brain drain into the harbinger of powerful gains. These gains have been studied already in recent research, or merit attention in future research.