Selective Migration and Economic Development: A Generalized Approach
International migration is a selective process that induces ambiguous effects on human capital and economic development in sending countries. We establish the theoretical microfoundations of the relationship between selective emigration and human capital accumulation in a multi-country context. We then embed this migration-education nexus into a development accounting framework to quantify the effects of migration on development and inequality. We find that selective emigration stimulates human capital accumulation and the income of those remaining behind in a majority of countries, particularly in the least developed countries. The magnitude of the effect varies according to the level of development, the dyadic structure of migration costs, and education policies. Emigration significantly reduces the number of people living in extreme poverty worldwide.
CHA'NGOM Narcisse;
DEUSTER Christoph;
DOCQUIER Frederic;
MACHADO Joel;
2025-10-22
WILEY
JRC130409
1468-2354 (online),
0020-6598 (print),
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/iere.12779,
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC130409,
10.1111/iere.12779 (online),
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