Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/243370 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2021/44
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
This study examines the skills-differentiated impact of a restrictive female labour migration policy in Sri Lanka using monthly departure data from 2012 to 2018 in a difference-indifference model. The Family Background Report policy has resulted in decreasing departures among lower-skilled groups-female domestic, unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled workers-and increasing departures among middle-level and professional workers. The decrease in departures of lower-skilled groups is consistent with the objectives of the policy and existing impact evaluation studies, while the increase in higher-skilled workers is consistent with the literature on Family Background Report-related corruption and mis-reporting of skills to avoid the policy. Thus, the policy is associated with higher involvement of lower-skilled workers in recruitment-related corruption, higher exposure to recruitment-related vulnerability, and lower foreign employment opportunities. The study also finds that it was appropriate to exempt the 45-49 year age group from the Family Background Report requirement in 2017.
Subjects: 
labour migration
employment
female
difference-in-difference
skills
JEL: 
J16
J22
J24
J61
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-982-2
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
515.39 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.