Webinar: The Economics of Migration ( Junior Seminar)

Date & Time:  February 22^nd 17h30 (CET)

Speakers: Charly Porcher (Dartmouth College)

Register here (Zoom)

Topic:  Migration with Costly Information

Abstract

Information is critical for migration decisions. Yet, depending on where they reside and who they interact with, individuals may face different costs of accessing information about employment opportunities. How does this imperfect and heterogeneous information structure affect the spatial allocation of economic activity and welfare? I develop a quantitative dynamic model of migration with costly information acquisition and local information sharing. Rationally inattentive agents optimally acquire more information about nearby locations and learn about other locations from the migrants around them. I apply this model to internal migration in Brazil and estimate it using migration flows between regions. To illustrate its quantitative implications, I evaluate the counterfactual effects of the roll-out of broadband internet in Brazil. By allowing workers to make better mobility choices, expanding internet access increases average welfare by 1.6%, reduces migration flows by 1.2% and reduces the cross-sectional dispersion in earnings by 4%.

Read the paper here.

About the seminar series:
This is a joint initiative of LISER's Crossing Borders research programme, CERDI, PSE,the University of Luxembourg and Universidad Carlos III. Its objective is to propose an opportunity to migration scholars for exchanging under the current exceptional circumstances.
Senior Seminars are held on Wednesdays at 17h30 CET.
Junior Seminars are held on Mondays at 17h30 CET
To learn more and view all Seminars click here