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The Returns to Migration: The Influence of Education and Migration Type
Author(s) -
Knapp Thomas A.,
White Nancy E.,
Wolaver Amy M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
growth and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.657
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1468-2257
pISSN - 0017-4815
DOI - 10.1111/grow.12022
Subject(s) - wage , earnings , economics , wage growth , panel data , labour economics , demographic economics , internal migration , econometrics , developing country , finance , economic growth
We show the impact of migration type on real wages over time. We create a migration and earnings history from the N ational L ongitudinal S urvey of Y outh over the period 1979–2002. We estimate the effects of primary, onward, and two types of return migration on real wages using a panel data model with individual, location, and time fixed effects. Panel data are well suited for the study of the returns to U . S . internal migration because the influence of migration on wages has been found to occur years after the event. We differentiate return migration into two types: return to a location with ties that form a geographical anchor (“home”) and return to a prior place of work. We find that real wage growth varies by migration type. Education attainment is a significant factor in real wage growth. Our results show that onward migration is an important channel by which the monetary rewards to a college education are manifested.