In a recent article in Post-Communist Economies, Zvezda Dermendzhieva uses Caucasus Barometer data to compare labour migration from the South Caucasus.
We found one of the more remarkable results to be that “while individuals with higher education are not more likely to become migrants in general, having higher education is associated with up to four times higher probability of migration to a high-income OECD country among Armenians and Georgians. The results are in line with theoretical arguments that skill distribution and returns to education in the host country relative to the home country affect the selection of migrants, and that the cost of migration plays an important role in the migration decision.”
Zvezda Dermendzhieva also suggests that migration indirectly contributes to economic development by raising local incomes in demand. In the same vein, she finds “a significant correlation between having a migrant and running a family business in Armenia, which suggests that migrants’ earnings can provide scarce capital for business investment and support the development of the private sector in the region.”
Interested in finding out more? Check the online abstract here.
