Date of Award
2006
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Program
Economics
Supervisor
Dr. Audra Bowlus
Second Advisor
Dr. Guangyong Zou
Abstract
My thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter analyzes the Italian la bor market. This chapter addresses the problem of the dualism of the Italian economy, particularly the fact that in South the unemployment rate is about four times that in the North. By constructing a general equilibrium matching model it provides an explanation for the unemployment gap and the low inter nal mobility rate. The model also explains why, despite the highly regulated labor market, the unemployment rate in the Northern Italy is almost the low est in Europe. This is because in the model unions set the wage rate and they take into account the pressure from Southern unemployment. The second chapter is focused on the relationship between education and migration decisions. This chapter documents the fact that the relationship be tween human capital, as measured by education, and migration choices among Mexicans is U-shaped: the highest and lowest educated tend to migrate more than the middle educated. A theoretical explanation for the U-shaped relation ship is provided. The model is calibrated to match relevant moments from the Mexican and US Censuses, and the calibrated model is used to evaluate the long run effect of the Progresa policy on education and migration. The third chapter is focused on the intergenerational dynamics of Mexi cans in the US. Building on Borjas (1993) an intergenerational model of self selection of migration and education is developed that allows for a more com plex selection mechanism. In particular, it allows for the possibility that agents are selected differently depending on the schooling level they choose. The iii model is estimated using data on Mexicans in the US from the CPS and on Mexicans residents from the Mexican Census. The findings are that there is a significant loss of human capital faced by immigrants that is not transmit ted to their children. Altruism plays an important role in migration decisions as well. In the case of immigrants, parents with larger amounts of intellectual ability tend to migrate more and tend to choose to remain high school educated. However, they migrate with the expectation of their children becoming college educated
Recommended Citation
Caponi, Vincenzo, "ESSAYS ON INTERREGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION" (2006). Digitized Theses. 5105.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/5105