Returns to International Migration: Evidence from a Bangladesh-Malaysia Visa Lottery
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics · 2023 · Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak、Iffath Anwar Sharif、Maheshwor Shrestha
中文摘要
南亚人前往较富裕的亚洲国家是世界上最大的迁移走廊。我们追踪了一项政府抽签的申请者——该抽签随机向孟加拉国人分配前往马来西亚从事临时劳动合同的签证——并在五年后对其进行了回访。大多数抽签中签者都迁移了，迁移者的收入增至三倍。他们的汇款提高了其家庭在孟加拉国的生活水平。迁移者的离开暂停了结婚与生育，并将决策权向女性转移。迁移带走了有进取心的人，降低了家庭创业活动，但并未挤出其他家庭成员的劳动供给。一项延迟的迁移机会对某个子群体始终未能兑现。他们在迁移前对技能的投资在国内市场没有产生任何回报。(JEL F22, F24, I31, J24, J31, J82, O15)
Abstract
South Asians traveling to richer Asian nations is the world's largest migration corridor. We track down applicants to a government lottery that randomly allocated visas to Bangladeshis for temporary labor contracts in Malaysia, five years later. Most lottery winners migrate, and migrants' earnings triple. Their remittance raises their family's standard of living in Bangladesh. The migrant's absence pauses marriage and childbirth and shifts decision-making power toward females. Migration removes enterprising individuals, lowering household entrepreneurship, but does not crowd out other family members' labor supply. A deferred migration offer never materialized for a subgroup. Their premigration investments in skills generate no returns in the domestic market. (JEL F22, F24, I31, J24, J31, J82, O15)