An economic analysis of self-selection into migration and preferences for redistribution

The project will push the frontier of understanding how migrants differ from those who stay in terms of their abilities, why people often do not react to the apparent economic incentives to migrate, and which factors determine individual preferences for redistribution of income. 

The project consists of three themes. The first studies how international migrants are self-selected in terms of their abilities using novel data that combine information on academic performance and cognitive ability and personality test results with register data on labor market performance and emigration choices. The second theme examines the extent to which house ownership affected internal migration responses to labor market shocks during Finland’s recession in the 1990s. The third theme studies determinants of preferences for redistribution of income using survey evidence. 

Responsible researcher: Ilpo Kauppinen, [email protected], +358 295 519 503