The impact of immigration on the internal migration of natives and immigrants

In this paper we examine the internal migratory response, by native-born non-Hispanic white men and foreign-born men in the United States, to recent immigration. Our analysis does not support the claim that natives have made a migratory response to recent immigration. Native-born men and foreign-born men were less likely to leave states that received large numbers of immigrants in the 1980s than they were to leave other states, and native-born men had less propensity toward out-migration than did foreign-born men. Out-migration was most likely to be deterred if recent immigrants originated in Europe or Asia. Although native-born non-Hispanic white men showed a tendency toward out-migration if recent immigrants originated in Latin America or the Caribbean, this result was insignificant after we controlled for state economic and regional context.     

Alcohol education provided to opioid treatment program patients: results of a nationwide survey

Alcohol-related problems are especially common among opioid treatment program (OTP) patients, suggesting that educating OTP patients about alcohol and its harmful effects needs to be a priority in OTPs. Using data collected in interviews with a nationwide U.S. sample of OTP directors (N = 200) in 25 states, we identified factors that differentiate OTPs that provided this education to all OTP patients from those that did not. Findings indicate that these factors include (1) providing this education in a greater variety of ways, (2) having a larger percent of staff knowledgeable about alcohol-related issues, (3) having a director who views alcohol issues as a high priority, and (4) having a written OTP policy.     

International migration policies: conceptual problems

Kritz reviews national concepts and policies of migration. She examines how nation-states approach migration and how they define who is a migrant. Policies for permanent, temporary, and illegal migrants are examined for selected countries. While the traditional permanent immigration countries--Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US--continue to admit large numbers of permanent migrants, they are also admitting growing numbers of temporary migrants. Other countries, in Europe and the developing world, have different migration histories and use other approaches to admit foreigners--migrants are generally admitted on a temporary basis for work or other purposes. Growing numbers of these temporary migrants, however, do become long-term or permanent settlers, and the distinction between permanent and temporary migration policies becomes a short-term legal one rather than a long-term sociological one. Governments have been seeking those policy instruments that would allow them to improve control over who enters and settles in their territories, and temporary migration policies are the measures to which they are turning. While increasing restriction characterizes the policy stance of most countries toward international migration, this does not necessarily mean that the number of migrants entering is declining. Kritz argues that the concepts employed by countries in their immigration policies frequently do not correspond to the reality, making it necessary to examine the actual context.     

International Student Mobility and Tertiary Education Capacity in Africa

In Africa, 5.8 per cent of enrolled tertiary students go outside their homelands for tertiary study. No other world region has this high a share of outbound student mobility. In this study, I examined why African countries have larger student outflows than other regions and, in particular, I considered the importance of tertiary education capacity in the region for student mobility. I evaluated the determinants of student outflows from African countries for three different measures: the total number of tertiary students abroad, the percentage of the tertiary age cohort studying abroad and the percentage of total enrolled students abroad. In addition to showing that country rankings differ on these mobility measures, the findings indicate that their determinants also differ. The study premise was that student outflows should be lower from countries that have a greater supply of tertiary training capacity and that thesis received strong support in models that estimated the percentage of total enrolled students abroad. In models for that outcome, student outflows were also larger if countries had high tertiary demand and populations under 2 million. The findings for models that estimated total numbers abroad and share of the tertiary cohort abroad were similar after controlling for interactions between tertiary education supply and GDP per capita. In addition, population size and per capita GDP were stronger correlates of student mobility in those models, which suggests that it is more difficult for education supply and demand measures to account for student outflows when crude outflow measures are used. I concluded that strengthening tertiary education supply at home would be a cost‐effective way for African governments to increase their human capital and reduce brain drain losses.     

Determinants of Women's Decision-Making Authority in Nigeria: The Ethnic Dimension

Using data from a 1991 survey of five ethnic groups in Nigeria, we look at the determinants of wife's decision-making authority. Our analysis shows that ethnicity plays a very important role in shaping wife's decision-making authority and is even more important than wife's individual-level characteristics as a determinant of authority. The ethnic effect occurs both by shaping the levels of resources that women achieve and by shaping the relationships of wife's achieved characteristics to family decision-making. To the extent that characteristics other than ethnicity make a difference for authority, we find that wife's contributions to household expenditures are important. That factor significantly increases wife's authority, as does wife's formal education, age, and work for pay outside the home. The findings underscore the importance of looking at ethnic social differentiation in the African context and advancing educational and employment opportunities for women.     

Will They Stay? Foreign-Born Out-Migration from New U.S. Destinations

Immigrants living in new destinations in 1995 were 2.5 times more likely to have migrated to another labor market by 2000 as immigrants living in traditional places. The researchers look at two competing explanations for immigrants’ differential internal migration patterns, namely that immigrants prefer areas with relatively large nativity concentrations which provide them with social support versus immigrants are target earners who prefer robust labor markets with strong employment growth and high wages. Utilizing confidential Census data for 1990 and 2000, the authors develop new destination classifications for 741 labor markets that take into account the differential growth and composition characteristics of 24 Asian, Latin American and Caribbean immigrant groups living in those markets. The empirical analysis of labor market out-migration indicates that immigrants do not see internal migration as an either/or choice between economics and social support but prefer residence places that allow them to maximize both conditions.     

Nativity concentration and internal migration among the foreign-born

Are immigrants who live in states where large numbers of their compatriots reside more or less likely to migrate than those who live in other states? Using 1980 U.S. Census data to address that question, the analysis shows that nativity concentration deters interstate migration but not migration within the same state. Residing in a state where fellow nationals live is a more important determinant of internal migration than human capital, immigration status, or a state’s unemployment rate. New York State residence in 1975 also promotes interstate migration. This research suggests that social dimensions should be taken into account in modeling internal migration of the foreign-born.     

U.S. Immigrants in Dispersed and Traditional Settlements: National Origin Heterogeneity

This paper uses confidential ACS data to compare the characteristics of immigrants from ten Asian and Latino origins and the total foreign born in traditional, emerging, and dispersed areas. The correlates of dispersed settlement were estimated for each group and the total foreign born using multinomial logistic regression. The findings show that the characteristics of immigrants in dispersed settlements differ both within and across national origin groups and also between national groups and the total foreign born. Several relationships, particularly those for education and occupation measures, differ significantly and call into question the homogeneity assumption commonly made by studies of the total foreign born or pan‐ethnic groups.