Migration and the epidemiological approach: Time and self-selection into foreign ancestries matter☆

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bertoli, Simone; Clerc, Melchior; Loper, Jordan; Fernandez, Eric Roca
• 署名单位: Universite Clermont Auvergne (UCA); Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103505
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Comparative development; migration; ancestry; culture; Identity choice

摘要

The epidemiological approach in comparative development uses data on individuals of immigrant origin to study cultural persistence, the determinants of cultural norms, and the effects of genetic traits. A common assumption of this methodology is its susceptibility to attenuation bias. We challenge it by demonstrating how the increasing reliance on foreign ancestries to identify respondents' origins can introduce confounding biases. Specifically, self-selection in reporting foreign ancestry and unobserved variation in ancestral migration timing may lead to inflated estimates. We formalize these mechanisms through a theoretical framework and illustrate their empirical significance by reassessing key findings from influential studies by Fern & aacute;ndez and Fogli (2006) and Giuliano and Nunn (2021).