The psychic costs of migration: evidence from Irish return migrants

Within the economics literature, the ‘psychic costs’ of migration have been incorporated into theoretical models since Sjaastad (J Polit Econ 70:80–93, 1962). However, the existence of such costs has rarely been investigated in empirical papers. In this paper, we look at the psychic costs of migration by using alcohol problems as an indicator. Rather than comparing immigrants and natives, we look at the native-born in a single country and compare those who have lived away for a period of their lives and those who have not. We use data from the first wave of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing which is a large, nationally representative sample of older Irish adults. We find that men who lived away are more likely to have suffered from alcohol problems than men who stayed. For women, we again see a higher incidence of alcohol problems for short-term migrants. However, long-term female migrants are less likely to have suffered from alcohol problems. For these women, it seems that migration provided psychic benefits, and this is consistent with findings from other research which showed how migration provided economic independence to this group. The results remain when we adjust for endogeneity and when we use propensity score matching methods.     

A cross-national comparison of the impact of family migration on women's employment status

In this paper we consider the effects of family migration on women's employment status, using census microdata from Great Britain and the United States. We test a simple hypothesis that families tend to move long distances in favor of the male's career and that this can have a detrimental effect on women's employment status. Unlike many previous studies of this question, our work emphasizes the importance of identifying couples that have migrated together, rather than simply comparing long-distance (fe)male migrants with nonmigrant (fe)males individually. We demonstrate that women's employment status is harmed by family migration; the results we present are surprisingly consistent for Great Britain and the United States, despite differing economic situations and cultural norms regarding gender and migration. We also demonstrate that studies that fail to identify linked migrant couples are likely to underestimate the negative effects of family migration on women's employment status.     

The effects of child health on marital status and family structure

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence on the effect of child health on marital stability and family structure in an economic framework. We use the 1988 National Health Interview Survey's Child Health Supplement, with a sample of about 9,000 families, to test whether having an unhealthy child decreases the mother's chance of being married and whether it increases her chance of living in an extended family. Using two different measures of child health, we find that having an unhealthy child decreases the mother's likelihood of being married. Our results imply that children in poor health are more likely to face obstacles beyond their illness because they also are more likely to suffer the consequences of poverty and the poor schooling outcomes that result from being raised in a female-headed household. The only mitigating factor is that unhealthy white children are more likely than their healthy counterparts to be living in an extended family.     

Selection,selection, selection: the impact of return migration

The evidence on the impact of return migration on the sending country is rather sparse, though growing. The contribution of this paper is in addressing various selectivity problems while quantifying the impact of return migration on wages of returnees using non-experimental data. Using Egyptian household-level survey data, I estimate the wages of return migrants controlling for several selectivity biases arising from emigration choice, return migration choice, labor force participation choice, and occupational choice following return. The findings provide strong evidence that overseas temporary migration results in a wage premium upon return, even after controlling for the various potential selection biases. However, the estimates underscore the significance of controlling for both emigration and return migration selections. Ignoring the double selectivity in migration would overestimate the impact of return migration on the wage premium of returnees, as migrants are positively selected relative to non-migrants, but returnees are negatively selected among migrants.     

The interrelations of marital status,fertility, family size and intelligence test scores

In this paper data relating to men born in 1924 in the two southernmost counties of Sweden, and called up for military service in 1944 are analyzed. The population registers yield certain demographic and social information about these men, and this may be related to their performance in an intelligence test administered when they were called up. The association between test scores and level of schooling on one hand, and such variables as nuptiality, age at marriage, number of sibs, marital fertility, the incidence of pre-nuptial conceptions and occupational class is discussed, and an estimate of the influence of differential fertility on the trend of intelligence is given.     

The effect of marital status at first birth on marital dissolution among adolescent mothers

The sequencing of marriage and first birth was expected to play an important role in the stability of marriage among adolescent mothers. We hypothesized that adolescent women who married prior to conception would have the lowest rates of marital disruption, followed by those who married between conception and birth. Adolescent women who gave birth prior to marriage were expected to suffer the highest rates of marital dissolution. The results provide partial support for our hypotheses. There is little difference in the probability of separation between adolescent mothers who had a postmarital conception and those who had a premarital conception but married before the birth. Having a premarital birth, however, significantly increases the probability of marital dissolution. We also hypothesized that marital status at first birth would have less effect on the probability of marital dissolution for blacks than for whites. This, too, is generally supported by our findings. Among black females, those with a premarital birth are the first to suffer a marital disruption, but by the end of ten years there is little difference in the probability of separation among the three marital status groups. In contrast, among white females, those with a premarital birth are the first to experience a disruption, and this differential persists over all subsequent marriage duration intervals. Thus, the sequencing of marriage relative to birth has similar short term effects for whites and blacks, but the effect for blacks is evident only in the short term. Ten years after the marriage, black adolescent mothers have similar rates of marital stability regardless of the sequencing of marriage. This is consistent with the findings of previous research and with our hypothesis; with the black family pattern of lower rates of marriage, higher rates of illegitimacy and higher divorce rates, the sequencing of marriage has no long lasting consequences on marital stability. Finally, our predicted decline in the effect of marital status at first birth over historical time also finds partial support. For white females there has been a change in the effect of marriage-first birth sequencing on separation over time. In the period encompassed by the women in our study, white adolescent mothers who married subsequent to the birth have been the most likely to experience a separation at all marriage duration intervals, but this differential narrows as age at interview declines. Among black females there has been no change in the effect of a premarital birth over time.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Trends in return migration to the south

Demography - The rate of return migration to the South rose by nearly 19 percent between the late 1950’s and the late 1960’s and was an important factor in changing the South’s...     

Self-selection and the performance of return migrants: the source country perspective

In this paper, using the framework of a Roy theoretical model, we examine the performance of return migrants in Albania. We ask two main questions: (i) Had they chosen not to migrate, what would be the performance of return migrants compared to the non-migrants? and (ii) What would be the performance of non-migrants had they decided to migrate and return? Both the selection estimates and the semi-parametric approach allow us to conclude that the flows of return migrants are negatively selected. We find that, had they decided to migrate and come back, the non-migrants would have earned more than twice the wages of return migrants.     

Unobserved variables and marital status The schooling connection

Studies increasingly indicate that some of the characteristics of individuals are jointly determined with marital status, fertility, and labor supply. This study focuses on the effect of schooling on marital status. A Hausman-type test shows that schooling cannot be legitimately treated as an exogenous determinant of marriage and divorce. It is shown that if schooling is treated as an exogenous variable, the negative effect of schooling on the odds of marriage is underestimated. Further, the results indicate that schooling has a significant negative effect on divorce if it is treated as an exogenous variable; the coefficient for schooling is positive if it is treated as an endogenous variable.I wish to thank Gary Becker, T W. Schultz, and two anonymous reviewers for their comments. In addition, I am grateful for research support from DePaul's College of Commerce and Research Board.     

Going home after Hurricane Katrina: Determinants of return migration and changes in affected areas

This article examines the decision of Hurricane Katrina evacuees to return to their pre-Katrina areas and documents how the composition of the Katrina-affected region changed over time. Using data from the Current Population Survey, we show that an evacuee’s age, family income, and the severity of damage in an evacuee’s county of origin are important determinants of whether an evacuee returned during the first year after the storm. Blacks were less likely to return than whites, but this difference is primarily related to the geographical pattern of storm damage rather than to race per se. The difference between the composition of evacuees who returned and the composition of evacuees who did not return is the primary force behind changes in the composition of the affected areas in the first two years after the storm. Katrina is associated with substantial shifts in the racial composition of the affected areas (namely, a decrease in the percentage of residents who are black) and an increasing presence of Hispanics. Katrina is also associated with an increase in the percentage of older residents, a decrease in the percentage of residents with low income/education, and an increase in the percentage of residents with high income/education.     

An analysis of marital status]

In the 1980 census, a special investigation was conducted in Wuxi City on the marital status of the local population above the age of fifteen. The investigation covered detailed information concerning those married, divorced, single, and widowed. Results from this investigation show that more men are single than women, and more men are also widowed. In part this is because the average age for husband is older than his wife and the death rate higher is for men than women. Data show that the popular marriage age is between 25 and 29, evidence of a general trend toward late marr iage. In the area of the divorce rate, the rate for women in the city is higher than that in the countryside. The divorce rate for men is higher in the countryside than in the city. In the rate of being single through a lifetime, the rate for men in the countryside is higher than that in the city. This situation shows that in the countryside, because of the poor geographical and economic condition, men suffer from their marriage status. Generally speaking, the divorce rate in China is still lower than that of Western countries and the marital status in China remains more stable. The marital status is influenced by many factors, such as the social and economic situation, customs and habits, religious beliefs, profession, and educational and cultural levels. The collection of information regarding the marital status is useful for analysis of the birthrate and population forecast.     

Race, socioeconomic status, and return migration to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on the 29th of August 2005 and displaced virtually the entire population of the city. Soon after, observers predicted the city would become whiter and wealthier as a result of selective return migration, although challenges related to sampling and data collection in a post-disaster environment have hampered evaluation of these hypotheses. In this article, we investigate return to the city by displaced residents over a period of approximately 14 months following the storm, describing overall return rates and examining differences in return rates by race and socioeconomic status. We use unique data from a representative sample of pre-Katrina New Orleans residents collected in the Displaced New Orleans Residents Pilot Survey. We find that black residents returned to the city at a much slower pace than white residents even after controlling for socioeconomic status and demographic characteristics. However, the racial disparity disappears after controlling for housing damage. We conclude that blacks tended to live in areas that experienced greater flooding and hence suffered more severe housing damage which, in turn, led to their delayed return to the city. The full-scale survey of displaced residents being fielded in 2009–2010 will show whether the repopulation of the city was selective over a longer period.     

Taxes and the Family: The impact of the tax exemption for dependents on marital fertility

In this paper I use data from the Panel Study on Income Dynamics to examine the relationship between the dependent exemption feature of the United States federal income tax (an unambiguous subsidy to dependents) and the fertility behavior of married couples over the period 1979-1983. The exemption decreases the price of a child to a household, thus having a direct relationship to the timing and/or number of children observed in a family. Conditional logit results support this hypothesis by showing that the exemption has a positive and significant impact on the likelihood of having a birth during the period under study.     

Quality of life in retirement: A case study of Zulu return migrants

The quality of late life in technologically advanced societies has been well-researched. In contrast, very little systematic research has been conducted among the aged in less developed societies. An interesting case of retirement in a society in transition is that of returning Zulu contract workers. The apartheid laws of South Africa constrain migrant movements: contract workers typically spend their working lives in the urban-industrial milieu of the core economy and later return to a rural lifestyle in their areas of origin in the peripheral “homelands”. The retirement circumstances of 253 male return migrants in five rural areas of KwaZulu were assessed in an in-depth study. The subjective well-being of the Zulu retirees was found to be influenced mainly by such factors as health, perceived financial security, social activity and participation, and positive sentiment towards retirement life. The conclusion is drawn that migrant workers’ needs in retirement have a universal quality. This finding has social welfare policy implications in a society which is characterised by unequal distribution of privilege.     

Intra-household conflicts in migration decisionmaking: return and pendulum migration in Morocco

By analyzing the migration behavior and transnational residential strategies of first-generation, aging migrants from a particular Moroccan sending region, this study contributes to a conceptual critique of migration theories that identify the household as the most relevant decisionmaking unit. It highlights the role of intra-household power inequalities and conflicts in migration decisionmaking as well as the effects of migration decisions for intra-household power relations. Many labor migrants who left Morocco to work in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s did not realize their wish to return but instead ended up reunifying their families at the destination. An increasing proportion adopts a pendulum migration strategy to reconcile their own wish to retain strong ties with Morocco with the reluctance of children and spouses to return. Migrants who unilaterally decided not to reunify their families usually return after their active working life. However, this unilateral decision also blocks legal entry into Europe for their children, which has generated considerable intergenerational tensions.     

试论西方婚姻家庭制度体系的双重属性

弗洛依德以为 ,文明是人类升华的结果 ;社会结构化理论也强调社会作为一种结构包含着人的主体性认同。从这一角度出发 ,可以更深刻理解婚姻家庭制度体系的双重属性———社会性与生物性。西方婚姻家庭制度发展历史上种种不同运行方式 ,事实上是婚姻家庭制度体系双重属性的结构平衡在不同时代的反映。西方婚姻家庭制度体系的发展表明 ,婚姻家庭制度的稳定性追求只是一种暂时的现象 ,动态的结构平衡才是婚姻家庭制度体系双重属性的必然要求。在不同时代社会性要求有不同的表达方式 ,相对于中世纪神圣性忏悔 ,现代婚姻家庭对爱情的追求重于对其稳定性的追求 ,由于此种方式认可并期许人类的生物本性升华 ,提供了更为普通大众接受的社会共识 ,从而成为现代文明的象征。     

The impact of war, famine, and economic decline on marital fertility in ethiopia

We examine recent fertility trends in Ethiopia for evidence of short- and long-term responses to famine, political events, and economic decline. We use retrospective data on children ever born from the 1990 National Family and Fertility Survey to estimate trends in annual marital conception probabilities, controlling for women's demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. The results of our analysis provide evidence of significant short-term declines in conception probabilities during years of famine and major political and economic upheaval. In the longer term, marital fertility in both urban and rural areas declined in the 1980s after increasing moderately in the 1970s.     

The impact of job loss on family dissolution

The impact of involuntary job displacements on the probability of divorce is analysed using discrete duration models. The analysis uses the sample of couples from the British Household Panel Survey and distinguishes between types of displacements. Results show that couples in which the husband experiences a job loss are more likely to divorce. Redundancies have small, positive, often insignificant and short-lived effects while dismissals and temporary job endings have larger positive impacts. This is consistent with the interpretation of redundancies as capturing negative income shocks while other types of job loss also convey new information about potential future earnings and match quality.     

The impact of job loss on family dissolution

The impact of involuntary job displacements on the probability of divorce is analysed using discrete duration models. The analysis uses the sample of couples from the British Household Panel Survey and distinguishes between types of displacements. Results show that couples in which the husband experiences a job loss are more likely to divorce. Redundancies have small, positive, often insignificant and short-lived effects while dismissals and temporary job endings have larger positive impacts. This is consistent with the interpretation of redundancies as capturing negative income shocks while other types of job loss also convey new information about potential future earnings and match quality.     

The impact of differences in the levels of technology on international labor migration

In this paper we analyze the patterns of international labor migration in a two-country world where one country's production technology is superior to that of the other country. We exploit an overlapping-generations model which enables us to trace the relevant dynamic considerations. We find that in the absence of international capital movements labor will migrate from the technologically-inferior to the technologically-superior country unless the stationary autarkic equilibrium is characterized by over-investment relative to the Golden Rule and the long-run elasticity of the interest rate with respect to the technological level is sufficiently large, in which case migration will be from the technologically-superior country.This paper, presented at the 6th World Congress of the Econometric Society, Barcelona, August 22–29, 1990, is a revised version of Discussion Paper No. 34, Harvard University Migration and Development Program.