Remittances and the Brain Drain Revisited : The Microdata Show That More Educated Migrants Remit More
Two of the most salient trends surrounding the issue of migration and development over the past two decades are the large rise in remittances, and an increased flow of skilled migration. However, recent literature based on cross-country regressions...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20091104145820 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4301 |
| Summary: | Two of the most salient trends
surrounding the issue of migration and development over the
past two decades are the large rise in remittances, and an
increased flow of skilled migration. However, recent
literature based on cross-country regressions has claimed
that more educated migrants remit less, leading to concerns
that further increases in skilled migration will hamper
remittance growth. This paper revisits the relationship
between education and remitting behavior using microdata
from surveys of immigrants in 11 major destination
countries. The data show a mixed pattern between education
and the likelihood of remitting, and a strong positive
relationship between education and the amount remitted
conditional on remitting. Combining these intensive and
extensive margins gives an overall positive effect of
education on the amount remitted. The microdata then allow
investigation as to why the more educated remit more. The
analysis finds that the higher income earned by migrants,
rather than characteristics of their family situations,
explains much of the higher remittances. |
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