Geographic , Gender and Skill Structure of International Migration

Abstract

This paper presents a new bilateral data set documenting international mi- gration stocks by gender, education level, origin and destination. We build on existing works recording migration to OECD host countries in 1990 and 2000. We then expand their coverage by collecting or estimating migration to non-OECD destinations. We provide comprehensive 195x195 matrices of international migration for 1990-2000, distinguishing migrants with college ed- ucation and the less educated. This unique database allows us to characterize the origin, destination and education level of about 100 million adult migrants in 2000, and 80 million in 1990. We identify the main sending and receiv- ing countries and the largest migration corridors. In particular, we show that South-North corridors are dominant in 2000, exhibit the largest growth rates, and are increasingly skilled.