The Impact of Migration on Political and Social Beliefs

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This project aims to investigate the causal effect of (return) migration on labor market outcomes as well as political and social beliefs. Worldwide, there are around one billion migrants. However, causal evidence of how migration influences labor market outcomes as well as political and social beliefs remains scarce. We aim to close this gap by evaluating Pakistan’s government-funded international scholarship program, which facilitates temporary migration for hundreds of students every year. To establish a causal effect, we aim to exploit a discontinuity in the program’s selection process. Applicants take part in a standardized test and must pass a critical minimum score to be accepted. We plan to collect primary panel data on labor market outcomes as well as political beliefs and preferences, and compare applicants that just succeeded to those who just failed. By surveying applicants before the selection decision, during the migration period, and then after the migrants’ return (which is mandatory) two years later, we can identify how the experience of migration affects the successful applicants in comparison to their unsuccessful counterparts who remained in Pakistan.