Essays on international migration and informal markets in developing countries

This thesis looks at two topics that have been prominent on the development agenda for more than five decades: migration and informal markets. To mitigate the problems of both migration and the informal sector, and harness their development potential, a clear understanding of the mechanisms at work is crucial. The thesis aims to contribute to such an understanding by examining several issues that have not been resolved. The first two essays focus on the relationship between international migration and household investments addressing the problem of brain drain and the use of remittances. Es...