Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/279037 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16339
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The Roy-Borjas model predicts that international migrants are less educated than nonmigrants because the returns to education are generally higher in developing (migrant-sending) than in developed (migrant-receiving) countries. However, empirical evidence often shows the opposite. Using the case of Mexico-U.S. migration, we show that this inconsistency between predictions and empirical evidence can be resolved when the human capital of migrants is assessed using a two-dimensional measure of occupational skills rather than by educational attainment. Thus, focusing on a single skill dimension when investigating migrant selection can lead to misleading conclusions about the underlying economic incentives and behavioral models of migration.
Subjects: 
international migration
selection
occupational skills
education
JEL: 
F22
O15
J61
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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