The Implications of Population Aging for Immigrant- and Gender-Related Attitudes

in Bloom, David E.; Sousa-Poza, Alfonso; Sunde, Uwe (Eds.) The Routledge Handbook of the Economics of Ageing (2022)

Population aging is an ongoing societal transformation that has major economic implications for countries worldwide at all stages of development. Various facets of this phenomenon have been explored over ... [more ▼]

Population aging is an ongoing societal transformation that has major economic implications for countries worldwide at all stages of development. Various facets of this phenomenon have been explored over the years with a particular focus on the implications for economic development, pension schemes, and the welfare state in general. Yet, neither the social nor the cultural implications of population aging have received adequate attention. This chapter sheds light on whether and how population aging affects immigrant-related and gender-related attitudes. Population aging reduces the working-age population and increases the pool of the economically dependent old. These tendencies create a need for an expansion of the labor force to mitigate the adverse effects on aggregate output. To meet this challenge, policies that expand the domestic labor supply with immigrants and females are called for. However, the attitudes in the population toward these social groups will determine whether such policies are implemented and successful. The link between population aging and immigrant- and gender-related attitudes is also important because the process of population aging may change the prevailing attitudes in a society. Immigrant- and gender-related attitudes are a case in point. As the understanding of the economic necessity to expand the domestic labor force with immigrants and females spreads, the standing of these social groups is likely to increase and hence, the attitudes toward immigrants and females become more favorable. Through this channel, population aging itself may facilitate the implementation of policies that expand the labor supply with these social groups. [less ▲]

A gravity analysis of refugee mobility using mobile phone data

in Journal of Development Economics (2021)

The objective of this study consists in analyzing the determinants of the internal mobility of refugees in Turkey. We track down this mobility relying on geolocalized mobile phone calls data and bring ... [more ▼]

The objective of this study consists in analyzing the determinants of the internal mobility of refugees in Turkey. We track down this mobility relying on geolocalized mobile phone calls data and bring these measures to a micro-founded gravity model in order to estimate the main drivers of refugee mobility across 26 regions in 2017. Our results show that the movements of refugees are sensitive to income differentials and contribute therefore to a more efficient allocation of labor across space. Comparing these findings with those of individuals with a non-refugee status, we find that refugees are more sensitive to variations of income at origin and to distance, while less responsive to changes in income at destination. These findings are robust to the way mobility is inferred from phone data and to the choice of the geographical unit of investigation. Further, we provide evidence against some alternative explanations of mobility such as the propensity to leave refugee camps, transit through Turkey, social magnet effects and sensitivity to agricultural business cycles. [less ▲]