Migration and Human Capital Formation: Theory and Evidence From the U.S. High School Movement
IMF Working Papers, July 1, 2002
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- Migration and Human Capital Formation: Theory and Evidence From the U.S. High School Movement
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Rodney Ramcharan
- Published: July 1, 2002
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451854626.001
Summary and central thesis
- In 1910, 12 percent of American 14-17 year olds were enrolled in high school; by 1930, enrollment had increased to 50 percent; enrollment in Britain was 12 percent in 1950.
- The paper argues that massive inflows of European unskilled immigrants at the turn of the twentieth century increased the skill premium, which engendered America's sharp rise in human capital investment (the "high school movement").
- Increased enrollments raised the supply of schools, leading to continued schooling investment.
- Cross section evidence and a VAR analysis of the time series data support the hypothesized role of immigration in generating the high school movement.
Evidence, methods, and empirical findings
- Methods:
- Cross section evidence.
- VAR analysis of the time series data.
- Key empirical observations:
- The timing of the high school enrollment rise: 12 percent in 1910 to 50 percent in 1930 for American 14-17 year olds.
- Comparative benchmark: Britain enrollment was 12 percent in 1950.
- Mechanism highlighted:
- Inflows of European unskilled immigrants → increased supply of unskilled labor → higher skill premium → incentives for human capital investment → expansion in school supply → sustained schooling enrollment growth.
Policy-relevant implications and thematic scope
- Themes and subjects addressed:
- Education, Expenditure, Labor, Migration, Population and demographics, Skilled labor, Unskilled labor.
- Keywords emphasizing channels and measures:
- Europe, factor movements, human capital formation, immigration flow, Migration, population movement, private cost, skill premium, Skilled labor, standard deviation, time series, WP.
- Implication (as argued by the paper):
- Large migration-driven shifts in labor supply can alter relative returns to skills (skill premium) and thereby trigger substantial expansions in private and public human capital investment and schooling infrastructure.
Publication and document metadata
- Author: Rodney Ramcharan
- Date: July 1, 2002
- Series: Working Paper No. 2002/123
- Issue: 123
- Volume: 2002
- Pages: 39
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451854626.001
- Stock No: WPIEA1232002
- ISBN: 9781451854626
- ISSN: 1018-5941
- Format noted on landing page: IMF Working Papers
Source: IMF Working Papers — "Migration and Human Capital Formation: Theory and Evidence From the U.S. High School Movement", Rodney Ramcharan, July 1, 2002.