Immigration, Remittances and Business Cycles
Author | : Federico Mandelman |
Publisher | : DIANE Publishing |
Total Pages | : 58 |
Release | : 2011-05 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781437939095 |
ISBN-13 | : 1437939090 |
Rating | : 4/5 (95 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Uses data on border enforcement and macroeconomic indicators from the U.S. and Mexico to estimate a two-country business cycle model of labor migration and remittances. It documents how remittances to Mexico serve an insurance role to smooth consumption across the border. During expansions in the destination economy, immigration increases with the expected stream of future wage gains, but it is dampened by a sunk migration cost. During recessions, established migrants are deterred from returning to their country of origin, which places a downward pressure on the wage of native unskilled workers. The authors quantify the welfare implications of immigration policies for the destination economy. Illustrations. A print on demand pub.