The Selection of Migrants and Returnees in Romania: Evidence and Long-Run Implications

48 Pages Posted: 23 Jun 2012

See all articles by William Ambrosini

William Ambrosini

Amazon.com, Inc.

Karin Mayr

University of Linz - Department of Economics

Giovanni Peri

University of California, Davis - Department of Economics

Dragos Radu

King’s College London; Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI)

Abstract

This paper uses census and survey data to identify the wage earning ability and the selection of recent Romanian migrants and returnees. We construct measures of selection across skill groups and estimate the average and the skill-specific premium for migration and return for three typical destinations of Romanian migrants after 1990. Once we account for migration costs, we find evidence that the selection and sorting of migrants by skills is driven by different returns in countries of destination. We also find that the return premium increases with migrants' skills and this drives the positive selection of returnees relative to non-migrants. As these findings are consistent with a model of rational choice in the migration decisions, we simulate a rational-agent model of education, migration and return. Our results suggest that for a source country like Romania relatively high rates of temporary migration might have positive long-run effects on average skills and wages.

Keywords: migration premium, selection of migrants, returnees

JEL Classification: F22, J61, O15

Suggested Citation

Ambrosini, William and Mayr, Karin and Peri, Giovanni and Radu, Dragos, The Selection of Migrants and Returnees in Romania: Evidence and Long-Run Implications. IZA Discussion Paper No. 6664, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2089713 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2089713

William Ambrosini (Contact Author)

Amazon.com, Inc. ( email )

Seattle, WA 98144
United States

Karin Mayr

University of Linz - Department of Economics ( email )

Altenbergerstr. 69
A-4040 Linz, Uper Austria 4040
Austria

Giovanni Peri

University of California, Davis - Department of Economics ( email )

One Shields Drive
Davis, CA 95616-8578
United States
530-752-3033 (Phone)
530-752-9382 (Fax)

Dragos Radu

King’s College London ( email )

Strand
London, England WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) ( email )

Heimhuder Strasse 71
Hamburg, DE Hamburg 20148
Germany

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