Cristina Cattaneo

Migrants’ International Transfers and Educational Expenditure: Empirical Evidence from Albania

The present paper analyses the expenditure behavior of Albanian families. The objective is to cast some light upon the relationship between education expenditure and the volume of remittances, sent from abroad by household members. To assess the existence of an education enhancing effect of remittances, an Engel curve framework is employed, where heterogeneity in interests or in bargaining power among the members within the households is assumed. The empirical estimation accounts for the censored nature of the education expenditure through using Heckman two-step as well as a semiparametric model for sample selection. Finally, quintile regression analysis is employed to investigate whether migrants’ remittances have a differentiated effect on various quantiles of the conditional distribution of the education consumption.

The Decision to Migrate and Social Capital: Evidence from Albania

The objective of this paper is to determine whether the participation in social organizations, which are commonly defined as a form of social capital, represents a complement or a substitute with respect to emigration. The nature of the relationship depends on the motivations behind the two choices, which induce the households to join a group and to invest in migration. To address this research question a bivariate probit model is employed, in that the decision to migrate and to join a social organization are estimated simultaneously. Both temporary and permanent emigration of the household are addressed. The results of the empirical estimation reveal that families participating in social organizations are more likely to send siblings abroad permanently, as they may receive from the social network important information that is crucial for permanent emigration. Hence, social capital performs a role as complement to permanent emigration. On the other hand, social capital is associated with a lower probability of moving temporarily. This may indicate that families resort to social capital rather than to temporary circular migration to overcome contingent liquidity constraint and therefore social capital is a substitute for temporary emigration.

International Migration, the Brain Drain and Poverty: A Cross-country Analysis

The aim of the paper is threefold. First, it empirically investigates the effect of international migration on poverty in origin countries, using data from a cross-country analysis. Second, it explores the specific part of the income distribution from which migrants are drawn, by comparing the effect of international migration on different income quintiles of the population. Finally, given that the selection of migrants depends not only on the income level of their households, but also on the skill levels of movers, the paper casts some light on the implications of the emigration of skilled workers on poverty. This article shows that the stock of international migrants have a positive effect on the income of the poor while it does not have a significant impact on the income of the middle and top quintiles of the population. In particular, a 10 per cent increase in the per capita stock of migrants resident in OECD nations augments the income of the poor by 1 per cent, on average and ceteris paribus. Finally, the poverty-reducing effect of migration holds even when the emigration process selects the best and the brightest.

Migrants’ International Transfers and Educational Expenditure

The primary objective of this article is to cast some light upon the relationship between education expenditure and the volume of remittances sent to Albania from abroad by international migrants. To assess the existence of an education enhancing effect of remittances, an Engel curve framework is used. In addition, quintile regression analysis is employed to investigate whether migrants’ remittances have a differentiated effect on various quantiles of the conditional distribution of education consumption. The two main empirical findings are that household income has a positive and well‐determined impact on education expenditure, whereas international transfers do not influence education spending.

What Happens to the Careers of European Workers When Immigrants "Take Their Jobs"?

Following a representative longitudinal sample of native European residents over the period 1995–2001, we identify the effect of the inflows of immigrants on natives’ career, employment, and wages. We control for individual, country-year, occupation group-year, and occupation group-country heterogeneity and shocks, and construct an imputed inflow of the foreign-born population that is exogenous to local demand shocks. We find that native European workers are more likely to move to occupations associated with higher skills and status when a larger number of immigrants enters their labor market. We find no evidence of an increase in their probability of becoming unemployed.

Immigration and Careers of European Workers: Effects and the Role of Policies

In this paper we analyze the response of career, employment and wage of native Europeans to immigration. We then ask how individual country’s policies affect these responses. We use data on 11 EU countries, over the period 1995–2001. We also use the 1991 distribution of immigrants by nationality across European labor markets to construct a version of the enclave-based instrument to proxy for the flow of immigrants, that is exogenous to local demand shocks. We find that native Europeans are more likely to upgrade to more skilled and better paid occupations, when a larger number of immigrants enter their labor market. We find no evidence of an increased likelihood of non-employment or geographical mobility. We find that more flexible labor markets in a country are a key factor to have employment upgrading in response to immigration.JEL CodesJ61; O15

Opting in to Opt out? Emigration and Group Participation in Albania

The objective of this paper is to determine whether the participation in social organizations represents a complement or a substitute with respect to international emigration. To address this research question, an instrumental variable approach is used, as group participation and international migration are potentially jointly determined. This is the case if the family considers emigration and group participation as alternative strategies to cope with uncertainty or a liquidity need, or alternatively when the family decides to invest in group participation in order to gain information helpful to emigrate. The results of the empirical estimation reveal that families participating in social organizations are more likely to migrate internationally and therefore social networks act as a complement for emigration. This may indicate that families recourse to social networks in order to collect important information that facilitates international migration.

Climate-induced International Migration and Conflicts

Population movements will help people facing the impact of climate change. However, the resulting large scale displacements may also produce security risks for receiving areas. The objective of this paper is to empirically estimate if the inflows of climate-induced migrants increase the risk of conflicts in receiving areas. Using data from 1960 to 2000, we show that climate-induced migrants are not an additional determinant of civil conflicts and civil wars in receiving areas.

Migration and Climate Change in Rural Africa

We analyse whether migration is an adaptation that households employ to cope with climate in Ghana and Nigeria. If migration is part of the present adaptation portfolio of households in developing countries, it is reasonable to expect that it will also be an adaptation to future climate change. It is important to stress that we are interested in long-term climatic conditions rather than in short-term weather fluctuations. The data to test these predictions are drawn from two different household surveys: the Nigeria General Household Survey and the Ghana Living Standard Survey. We find a hill-shaped relationship between temperature in the dry season and the propensity to migrate in households that operate farms. We also find a significant hill-shaped relationship between precipitations in the wet seasons and the propensity to migrate in farm households. Climate has instead no significant impact on the propensity to migrate in non-farm households. Climate change scenarios generated by General Circulation model reveal that, ceteris paribus, migration may decline in Ghana and in Nigeria.

Qualitative Scenario Building for Post-Carbon Cities

In defining the transition towards a post-carbon future, understanding the needs and determinants for policy priorities in different types of cities will help tailor a common roadmap that can be adopted under various socio-economic contexts. This paper provides an analysis of results collected in a participatory scenario building exercise undertaken within a research project on post-carbon urban futures (Post-Carbon Cities of Tomorrow, POCACITO). It is based on local workshops organised in nine European case study cities, which employed a three-step methodology consisting of an initial assessment, vision building and backcasting exercises. All exercises had a strong focus on the inclusion of stakeholders. Comparison of outcomes from the visions and scenarios resulting from these workshops provides insights on the drivers that determine different priorities in policy action for cities working to transition toward post-carbon futures. Results from the case study cities show similar elements in the strategies proposed by stakeholders, focusing primarily on urban projects for energy efficiency and the transition to non-fossil energy resources. However, the specific mix of strategies envisaged for each city has been influenced by local issues, such as the geographical location or the size, as well as different points of departure with regards to emission reductions and sustainability strategies already achieved.