The Labor Market Effects of Venezuelan Migration in Ecuador

33 Pages Posted: 29 Jul 2020

See all articles by Sergio Olivieri

Sergio Olivieri

World Bank

Francesc Ortega

City University of New York, CUNY Queens College - Department of Economics ; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Ana Rivadeneira

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Eliana Carranza

World Bank

Abstract

As of 2019, more than 1.2 million Venezuelans have passed through Ecuador and over 400,000 settled in, which amounts to almost 3% of Ecuador's population. This paper analyzes the location choices of Venezuelan migrants within Ecuador and the labor market consequences of these choices, using data from Ecuador's labor force survey (ENEMDU) and mobile phone records on the geographic distribution of Venezuelan migrants. Around half of these migrants live in 4 cantons (out of 221). Their location is primarily driven by local economic conditions, rather than point of entry. Overall, regions with the largest inflows of Venezuelans have not seen any effects on labor market participation or employment, compared to regions with fewer inflows. However, our difference-in-difference estimates clearly indicate that young, low-educated Ecuadorian workers in high-inflow regions have been adversely affected. Specifically, we estimate that these workers have experienced reductions in employment quality, a 5 percentage-point increase in the rate of informality, and a 13 percentage-point reduction in earnings, relative to workers with similar characteristics living in areas with very low or non-existing inflows of Venezuelans.

JEL Classification: O15, J61, D31

Suggested Citation

Olivieri, Sergio and Ortega, Francesc and Rivadeneira, Ana and Carranza, Eliana, The Labor Market Effects of Venezuelan Migration in Ecuador. IZA Discussion Paper No. 13501, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3654938 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3654938

Francesc Ortega

City University of New York, CUNY Queens College - Department of Economics ( email )

65-30 Kissena Blvd
Flushing, NY 11367-1597
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Ana Rivadeneira

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Eliana Carranza

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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