Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-22dnz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T18:55:27.525Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Natural disasters, migration and education: an empirical analysis in developing countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2014

Alassane Drabo  and
Linguère Mously Mbaye
Alassane Drabo
Affiliation:
Fondation pour les études et recherches sur le développement international (FERDI), Clermont-Ferrand, France. E-mail:alassanedrabo@hotmail.com
Linguère Mously Mbaye
Affiliation:
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 5–9, 53113 Bonn, Germany. E-mail:mbaye@iza.org
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper aims to assess the effect of natural disasters closely related to climate change on migration rates in developing countries, observing how this effect varies according to the level of education. We investigate this relationship by using panel data that measure international migration from developing countries to the main OECD destination countries. Estimations are made with a pair-country fixed effects estimator. The results show that natural disasters are positively associated with emigration rates. Furthermore, we show that natural disasters may exacerbate the brain drain in developing countries when they are at their most vulnerable and need greater support from skilled workers. We also find that the effect of natural disasters on migration varies depending on the geographical location of countries, as well as according to the type of disaster.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 20 , Issue 6 , December 2015 , pp. 767 - 796
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Barnett, J. and Jones, R. (2002), ‘Forced migration: the influence of environmental security’, Global Change 7(4): 3.Google Scholar
Barrios, S., Bertinelli, L., and Strobl, E. (2006), ‘Climatic change and rural-urban migration: the case of sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of Urban Economics 60(3): 357–371.Google Scholar
Batista, C., Lacuesta, A., and Vicente, P.C. (2012), ‘Testing the “brain gain” hypothesis: micro evidence from Cape Verde’, Journal of Development Economics 97(1): 32–45.Google Scholar
Beine, M. and Parsons, C. (2012), ‘Climatic factors as determinants of international migration’, IRES de l'Université Catholique de Louvain Discussion Paper 2012–2, Louvain-la-Neuve.Google Scholar
Beine, M., Docquier, F., and Rapoport, H. (2001), ‘Brain drain and economic growth: theory and evidence’, Journal of Development Economics 64(1): 275–289.Google Scholar
Beine, M., Docquier, F., and Rapoport, H. (2008), ‘Brain drain and human capital formation in developing countries: winners and losers’, Economic Journal 118(528): 631–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belot, M. and Hatton, T.J. (2012), ‘Immigrant selection in the OECD’, Scandinavian Journal of Economics 114(4): 1105–1128.Google Scholar
Bhagwati, J. and Hamada, K. (1974), ‘The brain drain, international integration of markets for professionals and unemployment: a theoretical analysis’, Journal of Development Economics 1(1): 19–42.Google Scholar
Bhargava, A. and Docquier, F. (2008), ‘HIV pandemic, medical brain drain, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa’, World Bank Economic Review 22(2): 345–366.Google Scholar
Black, R. (2001), ‘Environmental refugees: myth or reality?’, New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 34, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Geneva.Google Scholar
Black, R., Adger, W.N., Arnell, N.W., Dercon, S., Geddes, A., and Thomas, D. (2011), ‘The effect of environmental change on human migration’, Global Environmental Change 21(Supplement 1): S3–S11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blundell, R. and Bond, S. (1998), ‘Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models’, Journal of Econometrics 87(1): 115–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bollard, A., McKenzie, D., Morten, M., and Rapoport, H. (2011), ‘Remittances and the brain drain revisited: the microdata show that more educated migrants remit more’, World Bank Economic Review 25(1): 132–156.Google Scholar
Borjas, G.J. (1987), ‘Self-selection and the earnings of immigrants’, American Economic Review 77(4): 531–553.Google Scholar
Bridgman, H. (1983), ‘Could climatic change have had an influence on the Polynesian migrations?’, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 41(3–4): 193–206.Google Scholar
Chiquiar, D. and Hanson, G.H. (2005), ‘International migration, self-selection, and the distribution of wages: evidence from Mexico and the United States’, Journal of Political Economy 113(2): 239–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Comenetz, J. and Caviedes, C. (2002), ‘Climate variability, political crises, and historical population displacements in Ethiopia’, Environmental Hazards 4(4): 113–127.Google Scholar
CRED EM-DAT (2010), The International Disaster Database, Brussels: University of Louvain, [Available at] http://www.emdat.be/.Google Scholar
Defoort, C. (2008), ‘Tendances de long terme en migrations internationales: analyse à partir de 6 pays receveurs’, Population (French edn) 63(2): 317–351.Google Scholar
Dell, M., Jones, B.F., and Olken, B.A. (2009), ‘Temperature and income: reconciling new cross-sectional and panel estimates’, American Economic Review 99(2): 198–204.Google Scholar
Docquier, F. and Marfouk, A. (2006), ‘International migration by education attainment’, in Ozden, C. and Schiff, M. (eds), International Migration, Remittances and the Brain Drain, Washington, DC and New York: World Bank and Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 151–199.Google Scholar
Docquier, F. and Rapoport, H. (2012), ‘Globalization, brain drain, and development’, Journal of Economic Literature 50(3): 681–730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Docquier, F., Marfouk, A., and Lohest, O. (2007), ‘Brain drain in developing countries’, World Bank Economic Review 21(2): 193–218.Google Scholar
Docquier, F., Lowell, B.L., and Marfouk, A. (2009), ‘A gendered assessment of highly skilled emigration’, Population and Development Review 35(2): 297–321.Google Scholar
Easterly, W. and Nyarko, Y. (2009), ‘Is the brain drain good for Africa?’, Global Economy & Development Working Paper No. 19, The Brookings, Washington, DC.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Faini, R. (2007), ‘Migrations et transferts de fonds. Impact sur les pays d'origine’, Revue d'économie du développement 21(2): 153–182.Google Scholar
Findley, S.E. (1994), ‘Does drought increase migration? A study of migration from rural Mali during the 1983–1985 drought’, International Migration Review 28(3): 539–553.Google Scholar
Gray, C. and Mueller, V. (2012), ‘Drought and population mobility in rural Ethiopia’, World Development 40(1): 134–145.Google Scholar
Grubel, H.G. and Scott, A.D. (1966), ‘The immigration of scientists and engineers to the United States, 1949–61’, Journal of Political Economy 74(4): 368–378.Google Scholar
Halliday, T. (2006), ‘Migration, risk, and liquidity constraints in El Salvador’, Economic Development and Cultural Change 54(4): 893–925.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, C. and Su, H. (2009), ‘Climate change and Zhou relocations in early Chinese history’, Journal of Historical Geography 35(2): 297–310.Google Scholar
Hunter, L.M. and David, E. (2011), ‘Climate change and migration: considering gender dimensions’, in Piguet, E., Guchteneire, P. and Pecoud, A. (eds), Climate Change and Migration, Paris and Cambridge: UNESCO Publishing and Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
IMF (2003), ‘Fund assistance for countries facing exogenous shocks’, Technical Report prepared by the Policy Development and Review Department (in consultation with the Area, Finance and Fiscal Affairs Departments), International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
IOM (2007), ‘Migration and the environment’, International Organization for Migration Technical Report, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.Google Scholar
IPCC (2007), Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007: The AR4 Synthesis Report, Geneva: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Google Scholar
IPCC (2012), Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, Special Report, New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Marchiori, L. and Schumacher, I. (2011), ‘When nature rebels: international migration, climate change, and inequality’, Journal of Population Economics 24(2): 569–600.Google Scholar
Marchiori, L., Maystadt, J.-F., and Schumacher, I. (2012), ‘The impact of weather anomalies on migration in sub-Saharan Africa’, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 63(3): 355–374.Google Scholar
Mayda, A. (2010), ‘International migration: a panel data analysis of the determinants of bilateral flows’, Journal of Population Economics 23(4): 1249–1274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKenzie, D. and Rapoport, H. (2010), ‘Self-selection patterns in Mexico–U.S. migration: the role of migration networks’, Review of Economics and Statistics 92(4): 811–821.Google Scholar
Meze-Hausken, E. (2000), ‘Migration caused by climate change: how vulnerable are people in dryland areas?’, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 5: 379–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munshi, K. (2003), ‘Networks in the modern economy: Mexican migrants in the U.S. labor market’, Quarterly Journal of Economics 118(2): 549–599.Google Scholar
Naudé, W. (2010), ‘The determinants of migration from sub-Saharan African countries’, Journal of African Economies 19(3): 330–356.Google Scholar
Niimi, Y., Ozden, C., and Schiff, M. (2010), ‘Remittances and the brain drain: skilled migrants do remit less’, Annales d'Economie et de Statistique 97–98: 123–141.Google Scholar
Oliver-Smith, A. (2009), ‘Sea level rise and the vulnerability of coastal peoples: responding to the local challenges of global climate change in the 21st century’, Technical Report, InterSections No. 7, United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, Bonn.Google Scholar
Orrenius, P.M. and Zavodny, M. (2005), ‘Self-selection among undocumented immigrants from Mexico’, Journal of Development Economics 78(1): 215–240.Google Scholar
Perch-Nielsen, S., Bättig, M., and Imboden, D. (2008), ‘Exploring the link between climate change and migration’, Climatic Change 91: 375–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piguet, E, Pecoud, A., and Guchteneire, P. (2011), Migration and Climate Change, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Reuveny, R. and Moore, W.H. (2009), ‘Does environmental degradation influence migration? Emigration to developed countries in the late 1980s and 1990s’, Social Science Quarterly 90(3): 461–479.Google Scholar
Schiff, M. and Sjöblom, M. (2008), Panel Data on International Migration 1975–2000, Washington, DC: World Bank databases.Google Scholar
Shah, A. (2010), ‘Land degradation and migration in a dry land region in India: extent, nature and determinants’, Environment and Development Economics 15(2): 173–196.Google Scholar
Smith, P. (2007), ‘Climate change, mass migration and the military response’, Orbis 51(4): 617–633.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stern, N. (2007), The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Windmeijer, F. (2005), ‘A finite sample correction for the variance of linear efficient two-step GMM estimators’, Journal of Econometrics 126(1): 25–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Drabo and Mbaye Supplementary Material

Appendix

Download Drabo and Mbaye Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 70.5 KB