Abstract
The chapter introduces into the theory of factor mobility between regions or countries. After an introduction defining terms and motives for movements of factors in space it explains the basic factor mobility model assuming perfect competition and full factor price flexibility. Particular emphasis is given to the welfare results: who are the winners and losers if factors are allowed to move, and under what conditions does free mobility increase overall efficiency? We show how factor allocations deviate from an efficient outcome if markets do not work perfectly. After studying factor mobility in a static framework, we extend the analysis to a dynamic framework. It is needed because investment decisions are forward looking. Investors compare present expenditures with present values of future returns. The same holds true for migration because migrants invest into human capital when they expend migration cost today in order to earn a higher income in the future. Finally, the chapter also studies factor mobility in the New Economic Geography and briefly points to the role of the public sector for the analysis of factor mobility. A concluding section points to further research topics not dealt with in this chapter.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Alonso W (1978) A theory of movements (Chap 9). Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp 197–211
Batista C (2008) Why doesn’t labor flow from poor to rich countries?: micro evidence from the European integration experience. Oxford Economics Department Working Paper No. 402
Behrens K, Robert-Nicoud F (2011) Tempora mutantur. J Econ Geogr 11(2):215–230
Borjas GJ (2003) The labor demand curve is downward sloping: reexamining the impact of immigration on the labor market. Q J Econ 118(4):1335–1374
Borjas GJ (2008) international migration. In: Durlauf SN, Blume LE (eds) The new Palgrave dictionary of economics. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke
Burda MC (1995) Migration and the option value of waiting. The Economic and Social Review 27(1):1–19
Carrington WJ, Detragiache E, Vishwanath T (1996) Migration with endogenous moving costs. Am Econ Rev 86(4):909–930
Docquier F, Peri G, Ruyssen I (2018) The cross-country determinants of potential and actual migration. Int Migr Rev 48(1), suppl):37–99
Dustmann C, Frattini T, Prestion IP (2013) The effect of immigration along the distribution of wages. Rev Econ Stud 80(1):145–173
Dustmann C, Frattini T, Rosso A (2015) The effect of emigration from Poland on Polish wages. Scand J Econ 117(2):522–564
Edo A (2018) The impact of immigration on the labor market. J Econ Surv, in press, https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12300
Elsner B (2013) Emigration and wages: the EU enlargement experiment. J Int Econ 91(1):154–163
Epstein GS (2013) Frontier issues of the political economy of migration. In: Constant AF, Zimmermann KF (eds) International handbook on the economics of migration (Chap 22). Edgar Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, pp 411–431
Glaeser EL (1999) Learning in cities. J Urban Econ 46(2):254–277
Hansen MF, Schultz-Nielsen ML, Tranæs T (2017) The fiscal impact of immigration to welfare states of the Scandinavian type. J Popul Econ 30(3):925–952
Harris JR, Todaro MP (1970) Migration, unemployment and development. Am Econ Rev 60(1):126–142
Keller W, Yeaple RS (2013) The gravity of knowledge. Am Econ Rev 103(4):1414–1444
Krugman P (1991) Increasing returns and economic geography. J Polit Econ 99(3):483–499
Mountford A, Rapoport H (2011) The brain drain and the world distribution of income. J Dev Econ 95(1):4–17
Okkerse L (2008) How to measure the labour market effects of immigration? A review. J Econ Surv 22(1):1–30
Peri G, Shih K, Sparber C (2015) STEM workers, H1B visas, and productivity in U.S. cities. J Labor Econ 33(S1):S225–S255
Rappaport J (2009) The increasing importance of quality of life. J Econ Geogr 9(6):779–804
Razin A, Sadka E, Suwankiri B (2011) Migration and the welfare state. MIT Press, Cambridge
Sjaastad LA (1962) The costs and returns of human migration. J Polit Econ Suppl 70(5):80–89
Wooldridge JM (2002) Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
World Bank (2018) Migration and remittances: recent developments and outlook. Migration and development brief 29. World Bank Group, Washington, DC
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bröcker, J., Mitze, T. (2019). Factor Mobility and Migration Models. In: Fischer, M., Nijkamp, P. (eds) Handbook of Regional Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36203-3_42-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36203-3_42-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-36203-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36203-3
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences