Emigrant Selection and Wages: The Case of Poland

Abstract

In this paper, I use a unique individual-level pre-migration labour market dataset for Poland, which provides also emigrant final destination, to examine emigrant selection into two major destination countries, the United Kingdom and Germany. Specifically, within a simple theoretical framework, I compare the pre-migration observable and unobservable characteristics of emigrants with those of non-emigrants in Poland and test for selection by estimating skill price differences between Poland and the destinations based on detailed labour market data from all three countries. I contribute to the migrant selection literature by providing additional evidence on how migrants react to both labour market differences and different migration policies across countries.

Keywords: International Migration, Selection, Skill Prices, EU Enlargement, Inequality

JEL Classification: F22, J61, O15, D33