Migration, Remittances, Poverty, and Human Capital : Conceptual and Empirical Challenges
This paper reviews common challenges faced by researchers interested in measuring the impact of migration and remittances on income, poverty, inequality, and human capital (or, in general, "welfare") as well as difficulties confronting de...
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/07/7847946/migration-remittances-poverty-human-capital-conceptual-empirical-challenges http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7453 |
| Summary: | This paper reviews common challenges
faced by researchers interested in measuring the impact of
migration and remittances on income, poverty, inequality,
and human capital (or, in general, "welfare") as
well as difficulties confronting development practitioners
in converting this research into policy advice. On the
analytical side, the paper discusses the proper formulation
of a research question, the choice of the analytical tools,
as well as the interpretation of the results in the presence
of pervasive endogeneity in all decisions surrounding
migration. Particular attention is given to the use of
instrumental variables in migration research. On the policy
side, the paper argues that the private nature of migration
and remittances implies a need to carefully spell out the
rationale for interventions. It also notices the lack of
good migration data and proper evaluations of
migration-related government policies. The paper focuses
mainly on microeconomic evidence about international
migration, but much of the discussion extends to other
settings as well. |
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