Expectations, Information, and Migration: The Case of the West Bank and Gaza

This study evaluates the determinants of Palestinian migration from the West Bank and Gaza. Data are employed for the post-1967 period of Israeli rule to specify and test competing models as well as the structure of expectations in the migration decision. Results of the analysis support a simple static expectation formulation, as is consistent with much of the short-term, low mobility cost migration between the West Bank and Jordan. Findings further point to the importance of various Israeli-Palestinian economic and political economic interactions in the determination of this controversial movement of population, including those associated with employment opportunity for Palestinian labour in Israel, elements of Israeli West Bank settlement policy and changes in local standard of living. Various policy implications of the research are indicated.