Matloob Piracha

International Migration and the Role of Remittances in Eastern Europe

Many studies have addressed the effect of migration on both home and host countries, but few have focused on the effect of the economic flows derived from migration, especially for the Central and East European (CEE) countries. In this paper we analyse the effect of remittances on employment performance for CEE economies. To model the macro effects of remittances on the source country we proceed along the lines of Mancellari et al (1996) who extended the model of Aghion and Blanchard (1994) by adding migration. The impact of remittances on unemployment depends on its effect on productivity growth and entrepreneurial investment. In order to empirically analyse the impact of remittances we estimated a productivity equation using a set of 11 transition countries during the 1990-1999 period. We also analyse the impact of remittances on investment and consumption. Our results show support for the view that remittances have a positive impact on productivity and employment both directly and indirectly through its effect on investment.

Immigrant Over- and Under-Education: The Role of Home Country Labour Market Experience

Literature on the immigrant labour market mismatch has not explored the signal provided by the quality of home country work experience, particularly that of education-occupation mismatch prior to migration. We show that type of work experience in the home country plays a significant role in explaining immigrant mismatch in the destination country’s labour market. We use the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia and find that having been over-educated in the last job held in the home country increases the likelihood of being over-educated in Australia by about 45 percent. Whereas having been under-educated in the home country has an even stronger impact, as it increases the probability to be similarly mismatched in Australia by 62 percent.

Circular Migration or Permanent Return: What Determines Different Forms of Migration?

This paper addresses the following questions: To what extent do the socio-economic characteristics of circular/repeat migrants differ from migrants who return permanently to the home country after their first trip (i.e. return migrants)? and What determines each of these distinctive temporary migration forms? Using Albanian household survey data and both a multinomial logit model and a maximum simulated likelihood (MSL) probit with two sequential selection equations, we find that education, gender, age, geographical location and the return reasons from the first migration trip significantly affect the choice of migration form. Compared to return migrants, circular migrants are more likely to be male, have primary education and originate from rural, less developed areas. Moreover, return migration seems to be determined by family reasons, a failed migration attempt but also the fulfillment of a savings target.

Immigration, Labour Mobility and EU Enlargement

Immigration has once again become an important and contentious issue in the European Union. This paper, therefore, contributes to the debate by analysing different dimensions of the problem in the context of EU enlargement, using a consistent model of migration. This recognises that, within Europe, most migration is not permanent, but part of a process of mobility in which both return and serial migration are natural economic responses to a dynamic economy. We show that there are beneficial effects of migration, on both the home (origin) and host (destination) regions. We also bring forward some evidence to suggest that there is little difference in the preferences of migrants and non- migrants and, more importantly, between those moving legally and illegally. This leads us to some observations on the development of a more efficient policy towards migration both within and into the EU.

Remittances and Return Migration

This paper utilises survey data of return migrants to analyse the determinants of remittances sent while the migrants were abroad. We approach our research question from the perspective of three sending countries in the Maghreb, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. We investigate the remittance behaviour using the migrants’ conditions before migration as well as during the migration experience. Using a two-part model, we show that the decision to remit and the amount remitted depend on a combination of different migrant characteristics as well as the duration and form of migration. We also consider if the remittance behaviour is dependent on the type of return: decided or compelled. We show that those who decided to return have a higher probability to remit for investment purposes and remit more as the time spent abroad increases.

Self-Selection and the Performance of Return Migrants: The Case of Albania

In this paper, using the framework of a Roy theoretical model, we examine the performance of return migrants in Albania. We ask two questions: (i) Had they chosen not to migrate, what would be the performance of return migrants compared to the non-migrants? and (ii) What would be the performance of non-migrants had they decided to migrate and return? Both the selection estimates and the semi-parametric approach allow us to conclude that the flows of return migrants are negatively selected. We find that, had they decided to migrate and come back, the non-migrants would have earned more than twice the wages of return migrants.

The Determinants of Remittances: Evidence from Moldova

This article explores the factors that account for the receipt of remittances by households in Moldova that have members who have migrated abroad, mostly temporarily. We approach our research question from the perspective of the recipient household and use it to interpret the econometric findings on the determinants of remittances. Our results show that a combination of household and migrant characteristics and some community-level variables are the key elements in explaining remittance behaviour. Drawing on these estimates, we argue that the results point towards altruism and investment as the two possible motives behind remittance flows to Moldova, which significantly affect the countrys development prospects.

Occupational Choice of Return Migrants in Moldova

This paper analyzes the occupational choice of return migrants. Using the survey data on different aspects of migration in Moldova, we find that those who stayed illegally in the host country tend to go into wage employment on return to the home country. We also show that relatively better educated migrants tend not to be in formal employment (i.e., appear not to participate in the labor market), whereas those with relatively lower skills or who obtained a worse-than-expected outcome in the host country are more likely to be wage employed in the home country on return. We offer an economic analysis of these paradoxical results.

Immigrants' Educational Mismatch and the Penalty of Over-Education

ABSTRACT This paper analyses immigrants’ educational mismatch and its impact on wages in Spain. The incidence of immigrants’ education–occupation mismatch in the Spanish labour market can largely be explained by the mismatch in the last job held in the home country. The probability of having been over-educated in the home country has a higher effect on the probability of being over-educated in the first job in Spain. Those who were over-educated in their first job are more likely to continue being over-educated in their current job in Spain. Finally, over-educated immigrants earn significantly lower wages compared to their non-over-educated counterparts.

Migration and development in transition economies of Southeastern Europe

This paper introduces an issue of Eastern European Economics on migration in Kosovo and Albania. It consists of four main parts. In the first two, we sketch the background to the large-scale emigration flows: from Kosovo since the 1960s, and from Albania since 1990. We also note the equally large-scale internal migration within Albania since 1990. Next, we highlight the key findings of the three papers that compose this special issue, noting how they both support and challenge conventional wisdom on the economic rationales for migration. Finally, we make some general and speculative observations about current and future migration trends in the Kosovo-Albania region.