Heterogeneous Effects of Deep Regional Trade Agreements on International Migration

Abstract

This study empirically analyzes the impact of deep regional trade agreements on bilateral migration flows using a structural gravity model for international migra- tion. The sample includes 35 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Devel- opment destination countries and 201 origin countries over 1995-2014. Focusing on the major policy areas in each provision, I find that both the visa-and-asylum and labor-market-regulation provisions increase South-to-North migration flows but fail to increase North-to-North flows. Additionally, although the overall impact of the service provision is negative, policy areas related to the movement of natural persons do not discourage South-to-North migration.
JEL classification:F15;F22