The Long Run Effects of Labor Migration on Human Capital Formation in Communities of Origin
60 Pages Posted: 1 Mar 2016 Last revised: 1 Apr 2023
There are 2 versions of this paper
The Long Run Effects of Labor Migration on Human Capital Formation in Communities of Origin
The Long Run Effects of Labor Migration on Human Capital Formation in Communities of Origin
Date Written: February 2016
Abstract
We provide new evidence of one channel through which circular labor migration has long run effects on origin communities: by raising completed human capital of the next generation. We estimate the net effects of migration from Malawi to South African mines using newly digitized Census and administrative data on access to mine jobs, a difference-in-differences strategy and two opposite-signed and plausibly exogenous shocks to the option to migrate. Twenty years after these shocks, human capital is 4.8-6.9% higher among cohorts who were eligible for schooling in communities with the easiest access to migrant jobs.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation