Refugees and irregular migrants self-selection in Europe

Question 1

what are the main findings?

3

Answer 1

1) the risk of staying increases migration probability of better skilled individuals (economic risk in addition to elementary risk)
2) risk of passage reduces migration incentives of te better skilled
3) self-selection differs by gender (positive self selection of female irregular migrants, negative ss of male and positive self selection of refugees)

self-selection measured by HC (education and estimated income)

Question 2

why do one expect different selection and sorting patterns for refugees and illegal migrants?

Answer 2

• both face sendung country risk and irregular passage risk
• Irregular migrants face only irregular passage risk
• sending country risk affects skill-selection positively, passage risk negatively
• everyting else equal -> refugees should be better-skilled compared to pure irregular migrants

Question 3

how are te educational differences between men and women who emigrate for other reasons than war and persecution?

Answer 3

positive self-selection of female irregular migrants compared to negative self-selection of male irregular migrants
Reasons:
- gender discrimination and very low employment rates for women in the sending country -> expected return from education in European countries being relatively higher for women
- hidden reasons like gender-specific violence or oppresion -> higher risk of staying as well although they cite economic reasons e.g.

Question 4

conclusion?

Answer 4

realtive returns are important but the risk is also an important factor in terms of migration