Does Access to Foreign Markets Shape Internal Migration? : Evidence from Brazil

Hering, Laura ; Paillacar, Rodrigo

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: EXPORT SUPPLY;    UNEMPLOYMENT RATES;    GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY;    CHECKS;    ACCOUNTING;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7264
RP-ID  :  WPS7264

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper investigates how internalmigration is affected by Brazil’s increased integration intothe world economy. It analyzes the impact of regionaldifferences in access to foreign demand on sector-specificbilateral migration rates between the Brazilian states forthe years 1995 to 2003. Using international trade data, aforeign market access measure is computed at the sectorallevel, which is exogenous to domestic migration. A higherforeign market access is associated with a higher locallabor demand and attracts workers via two potentialchannels: higher wages and new job opportunities. Resultsshow that both channels play a significant role in internalmigration. Further, we find a heterogeneous impact acrossindustries, according to their comparative advantage on theworld market. However, the observed impact is driven by thestrong reaction of low-educated workers to changes in marketaccess. This finding is consistent with the fact that Brazilis exporting mainly goods that are intensive in unskilled labor.