Discrepancies in Labor Market Outcomes From Migration Evidence From Colombia

• Main Author: Pena, Liza Beatriz
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholar Commons 2014
• Subjects: Conflict; Development; Instrumental Variables; Migration; Violence; Economics; Labor Economics
• Online Access: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5100; https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6296&context=etd

As of 2012, approximately 10% of the population in Colombia has been displaced by violence. The main motivation of this paper is to estimate the effect of interregional migration on employment outcomes in the country between 1993 and 2005. Using violence as an instrument for migration, I analyzed the differential effects of migration on specific employment outcomes across gender and skill levels. I find that a one percentage point increase in net migration only increases the unemployment rates of female migrants by 0.656 percentage point. I also find that net migration rates do not affect the employment conditions of low-skilled natives, even in industries with high composition of migrant workers.