Caroline Theoharides (Amherst) will present:

"Banned from the Band: The Effect of Migration Barriers on Origin-Country Labor Market Decisions"

at 3pm on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 in 310 Silsby

Please sign up for a meeting, lunch, or dinner at:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gQ3o7eb0ysqZy75z_nRwul3RiaMwCNHuYC-iQg-cC2A/edit?usp=sharing

Abstract

International migration provides substantial benefits to poor countries, yet emigration flows are often constrained through destination country immigration policies. Despite the prevalence of restrictions on migration flows, the literature is largely silent on the implications of these barriers on migrant-sending countries. To estimate a causal effect of migration barriers on labor market choices of individuals in the migrant-sending country, this paper exploits a policy change that led to the halt of the largest migration channel for Filipinos. In 2005, in response to accusations from the United States of human trafficking, Japan dramatically changed the requirements for Filipinos migrating as overseas performing artists (OPAs), resulting in a decline from 71,108 to 6,696 new workers migrating per year. Certain areas of the Philippines historically sent a larger share of OPAs, and I employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy that uses historical OPA migration to define the treatment dosage. International migration falls in response to the policy change by 1.2%. The effect on international migration is larger than the policy change itself would suggest, indicating the importance of spillovers across migrant occupations. Domestically, more children are employed, and adults are more likely to look for additional hours or engage in short term work. These results suggest that migration barriers and the elimination of controversial migration channels such as sex work can have major repercussions for labor market choices in migrant-sending countries.