The determinants of migration to the EU: evidence from residence permits data

Abstract

The report analyzes the drivers of different forms of migration. Specifically, using Eurostat data on new residence permits issued by EU countries to Third-Country Nationals, we are able to distinguish among five channels of entry and stay in Europe: family, work-related, education, humanitarian, and other reasons. We estimate several panel data gravity models for each of the groups of migrants, for the period 2008-2015. We find that dyadic variables influence all forms of migration similarly. We provide evidence of network effects, especially for the groups of family and work-related migrants. Population growth in the country of origin is negatively associated with migration, except for humanitarian forms of migration. Increasing economic disparities between the origin and the destination countries, measured with GDP per-capita, are associated with higher migration movements, though not for all the groups. Restrictive migration policies in the destination country and travel visa restrictions seem to act as a deterrent for migrations.