Migration and the skill composition of the labour force: the impact of trade liberalization in LDCs

Abstract

In this paper we add four features to the standard Heckscher-Ohlin model: skilled and unskilled labour, international labour mobility, migration costs, and financing constraints. We show that migration of unskilled, financially constrained workers increases, while mi- gration of skilled workers is unaffected by trade liberalization in a developing country with stable population. That is, trade and migration of unskilled workers are complements, with trade liberalization resulting in a smaller and more skilled labour force. Comparing two identical countries except for their trade regimes, we find that the country with lower tariffs has a larger emigration of unskilled workers (trade and migration of unskilled workers are complements) and a smaller emigration of skilled workers (trade and migration of skilled workers are substitutes), resulting in a more skilled labour force and in an ambiguous effect on the size of the labour force. The same result holds in the case of a trade reform within a country, with population growth replacing the migrants in the pre-reform situation. Migration et structure des competences de la main d'oeuvre: l'impact de la liberalisation du commerce dans les pays moins developpe's. Dans ce memoire, les auteurs ajoutent quatre dimensions au modele traditionnel d'Heckscher-Ohlin: travailleurs qualifies et non-qualifies, mobilite internationale du travail, couts et contraintes financieres attaches a la migration. On montre que la migration des travailleurs non-qualifies et sujets a des contraintes fi- nancieres augmente alors que la migration des travailleurs qualifies ne change pas quand il y a liberalisation du commerce dans un pays a population stable. Commerce et migra- tion des travailleurs non-qualifies sont des complements, et la liberalisation du commerce engendre une main d'oeuvre moins importante et plus qualifiee. En comparant deux pays identiques sauf pour le regime de commerce, on trouve que le pays qui a les droits de douane les plus faibles a une plus grande emigration de travailleurs non-qualifies, et une plus faible emigration de travailleurs qualifies. Voila qui se traduit par une main d'oeuvre plus qualifiee, mais qui a un effet ambigu sur la taille de la main d'oeuvre. On obtient les memes resultats