Migrant integration policies and bilateral migration

Abstract

Using a novel gravity methodology based on international and intra-national (i.e. internal) migration flows, I investigate the impact of non-discriminatory migrant integration policies set by destination countries on bilateral migration. In a sample of 27 destination countries and 189 origin countries for the years 2010-2014, I show that these policies, on average, positively affect migration. Moving from the 25th percentile to the median of the variable that summarizes all migrant integration policies leads to a predicted 27 percent increase in international, relative to internal migration flows. Not all migrant integration policies, however, have such positive effect. Only policies favoring migrants' access to nationality and policies affording migrants legal protection from discrimination are robust determinants of migration flows.