Ageing,Health, Loneliness and Wellbeing

Social Indicators Research - Older people experience high rates of depression and suicide, yet they make a positive net contribution to the economy through activities such as employment,...     

International Migration and the Role of Remittances in Eastern Europe

In this paper we analyse the effect of remittances on employment performance for Central and East European (CEE) economies. We show that the impact of remittances on unemployment depends on its effect on productivity growth and investment. In order to empirically analyse the impact of remittances we estimate a productivity equation using a set of 11 transition countries during the 1990 to 1999 period. Our results show support for the view that remittances have a positive impact on productivity and employment both directly and indirectly through its effect on investment.     

Social networks and the labour market mismatch

This paper assesses the extent to which social contacts and ethnic concentration affect the education-occupation mismatch of natives and immigrants. Using Australian panel data and employing a dynamic random effects probit model, we show that social capital exacerbates the incidence of over-education, particularly for females. Furthermore, for the foreign born, ethnic concentration significantly increases the incidence of over-education. Using an Alternative Index, we also show that social participation, friends and support and ethnic concentration are the main contributors in generating a mismatch, while reciprocity and trust does not seem to have any effect on over-education for both, immigrants and natives. Finally, we show that social networks are more beneficial for the relatively better educated.     

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.