Human Rights, Income and International Migration

Pui Hang Wong*, Guney Celbis

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This study contributes to the literature of migration studies by addressing the question: why does international migration persist despite welfare improvements in migrant-sending countries? We propose that the human rights condition of the origin countries is an important determinant of global migration. Although the human rights issue is not new to researchers in migration studies, the concern is primarily about the rights of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers or migrant workers in a host country. We undertake a bilateral panel data analysis to examine the pattern of global bilateral migration between 1995 and 2010. We find that international migration is positively associated with human rights conditions and income. Similar results are also obtained when we control for multilateral resistance and possible sample selection biases in a panel context. Our study implies that efforts to promote human rights may also be assessed in relation to their contribution to migration flows.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)98-114
Number of pages17
JournalInternational Migration
Volume57
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2019

Keywords

  • DETERMINANTS
  • EVOLUTION
  • FORCED MIGRATION
  • GRAVITY
  • IMMIGRANTS
  • IMPACT
  • LABOR RIGHTS
  • ORGANIZATIONS
  • TRADE AGREEMENTS
  • UNEMPLOYMENT

Cite this