Out-migration, wealth constraints, and the quality of local amenities

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Dustmann, Christian; Okatenko, Anna
• 署名单位: University of London; University College London; University of London; University College London
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2014.05.008
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 52-63
• 关键词: MIGRATION; Wealth constraints; Migration intentions; Local amenities

摘要

The relation between income and migration intentions can be monotonically decreasing, increasing, or inverse U-shaped, dependent on the level of migration cost relative to wealth and if individuals are credit constrained. Using unique individual level data, covering countries in three geographic regions - sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America - we show that migration intentions respond to individual wealth, and that the pattern differs across the country groups studied in a manner compatible with the predictions of our simple model. We also show that contentment with various dimensions of local amenities, such as public services and security, are key determinants of migration intentions. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.