International Migration and Wages

Abstract

Understanding the determinants of migration patterns and the selection of migrants is of paramount importance in a world in which over 240 million people have migrated and many more are considering doing so. This paper adds to the literature on this topic by (i) using micro-level wage data for a large number of source and destination countries, and (ii) identifying the impact of bilateral variables, e.g. distance, and source and destination country characteristics using a two-step estimation strategy that allows for estimation over a full matrix of migration corridors and better addresses the issue of multilateral resistance to migration. The results highlight how geography (distances, contiguity and country size) and wage differentials matter for determining migration flows and the differential selection of low and high skilled migrants.