This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Home
  2. Journals
  3. American Economic Review
  4. Forthcoming Articles
  5. Abundance from Abroad: Migrant Income and Long-Run Economic Development

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Abundance from Abroad: Migrant Income and Long-Run Economic Development

  • Gaurav Khanna
  • Emir Murathanoglu
  • Caroline Theoharides
  • Dean Yang
American Economic Review (Forthcoming)

Abstract

We study how international migrant income prospects affect long-run development in origin areas. We leverage the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis exchange rate shocks in a shift-share identification strategy across Philippine provinces. Initial migrant income shocks are magnified six-fold over time, increasing domestic income, education levels, migrant skills, and high-skilled migration. Remarkably, 74.9% of long-run income gains come from domestic rather than migrant income. Trade-driven impacts of exchange rate shocks are orthogonal to effects via migrant income. A structural model reveals that 19.7% of long-run income gains stem from educational investments. International migration fosters broad economic development in origin communities.

Downloads