Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/21276 
Year of Publication: 
2002
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 610
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
With reference to the EU enlargement, a framework is derived which allows the study of the effect of unemployment benefits on the migration decision. While benefits simply increase the expected gain for risk neutral individuals, they work as an insurance device for risk averse migrants; the results for the two groups might differ. Thus, the migration decision is reformulated as monetary lottery and a utility function exhibiting constant relative risk aversion is applied. The model suggests increased migration incentives independent of taste and a positive selection of risk neutral individuals. Furthermore, risk averse migrants are likely to be found in countries with more evenly distributed incomes, other things equal. While the calibration of the model shows a significant change in migration incentives, empirical results on aggregate data for South-North migration within the EU are rather ambiguous.
Subjects: 
migration
welfare benefits
risk aversion
fixed effects
JEL: 
D81
J65
J61
J60
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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