Should I Stay or Should I Go: Geographic versus cultural networks in migration and (un)employment

In their paper (pdf, 354K) authors Jinu Koola and Caglar Ozden of the Development Economics Research Group at the World Bank use the Indian state of Kerala as a “laboratory” to explore two main questions that are prominent in the migration literature: (1) what are the mechanisms through which migrant networks operate, and (2) what role does the existence of migrant networks have on the labor market participation decisions of non-migrant household members? Michael Clemens, Research Fellow, Center for Global Development moderated this discussion on Friday, May 23, 2008.