Does Migration Foster Exports? Evidence from Africa

This paper aims at assessing the impact of migration on export performance and more particularly the effect of African migrants on African trade. Relying on a new data set on international bilateral migration recently released by the World Bank spanning from 1980 to 2010, the authors estimate a gravity model that deals satisfactorily with endogeneity. The results first indicate that the pro-trade effect of migration is higher for African countries, a finding that can be partly explained by the substitution between migrants and institutions (the existence of migrant networks compensating for weak contract enforcement, for instance). This positive association is particularly important for the exports of differentiated products, suggesting that migrants also play an important role in reducing information costs. Moreover, focusing on intra-African trade, the pro-trade effect of African migrants is larger when migrants are established in a more geographically and ethnically distant country. All these findings highlight the ability of African migrants to help overcome some of the main barriers to African trade: the weakness of institutions, information costs, cultural differences, and lack of trust.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Ehrhart, Hélène, Le Goff, Maëlan, Rocher, Emmanuel, Singh, Raju Jan
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2014-01
Subjects:	BARRIERS TO TRADE, BILATERAL AGREEMENT, BILATERAL TRADE, BRAIN DRAIN, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, CITIZENS, CITIZENSHIP, COMMODITIES, CONSUMER GOODS, CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT, COST REDUCTION, COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN, COUNTRY FIXED EFFECTS, COUNTRY OF DESTINATION, COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, COUNTRY RISK, COUNTRY TO COUNTRY, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPING COUNTRY, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DIRECT ACCESS, DISSEMINATION, ECONOMETRICS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC HISTORY, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, ECONOMICS, ETHNIC GROUP, ETHNIC GROUPS, EXPORT GROWTH, EXPORT MARKETS, EXPORT MARKETS FOR PRODUCTS, EXPORT PERFORMANCE, EXPORTERS, EXPORTS, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS, FREE TRADE, FREE TRADE AGREEMENT, FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS, GDP, GLOBAL EXPORTS, GRAVITY EQUATION, GRAVITY MODEL, GRAVITY MODELS, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, HEALTH CARE, HOME COUNTRIES, HOME COUNTRY, HOST COUNTRIES, HOST COUNTRY, HUMAN RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS LEGISLATION, IMMIGRANT, IMMIGRANTS, IMMIGRATION, IMPACT OF MIGRATION, IMPACT OF TRADE, IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION, IMPORTS, INCOME, INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES, INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT, INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS, INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, INTERNATIONAL MIGRANT, INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INTERNATIONAL TRADING, INTRAREGIONAL TRADE, JOB CREATION, LABOR FORCE, LABOR MARKET, LDCS, LEGAL FRAMEWORK, LEGAL SYSTEM, LIFE EXPECTANCY, MARKET INFORMATION, MARKET RISKS, MIGRANT, MIGRANT POPULATIONS, MIGRANTS, MIGRATION, MIGRATION DATA, MOVEMENTS OF PEOPLE, MULTILATERAL TRADE, NATIONAL BORDERS, NUMBER OF MIGRANTS, OFFICIAL LANGUAGE, OPPORTUNISTIC BEHAVIOR, PATTERN OF TRADE, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, PROGRESS, RECENT IMMIGRANTS, REGIONAL TRADE, REMITTANCES, REPUTATION, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, RESPECT, SOCIAL PROTECTION, SOCIAL SECURITY, TRADE AGREEMENT, TRADE AGREEMENTS, TRADE BARRIERS, TRADE COSTS, TRADE CREATION, TRADE EFFECT, TRADE FACILITATION, TRADE FLOWS, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRADE MISSIONS, TRADE PERFORMANCE, TRADE RELATIONSHIP, TRANSACTION COSTS, TRANSPORTATION, UNDOCUMENTED MIGRATION, VALUE OF EXPORTS, VALUE OF TRADE, WAGES, WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, WTO,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/01/18757846/migration-foster-exports-evidence-africa https://hdl.handle.net/10986/16810
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