Using machine learning methods in a difference-in-differences setting, we quantify the population of informal workers generated by an irregular migration shock. We exploit the exogenous variation from the Arab Spring wave on southern Italian coasts, and a rich data on Italian vineyards. We...

Previous literature shows that internal migration rates are strongly procyclical. This would seem to imply that geographic relocation does not help mitigate negative local economic shocks during recessions. This paper shows that this is not the case. I document that net in-migration rates...

We document and suggest a rationale for the durability of seasonal migration from Poland to Germany, a phenomenon persisting for more than a century. We refer to the role of the tradition of engaging in seasonal migration as a force that helped invigorate the process and contribute to its...

In the 2011 post-Arab Spring migration wave, over 64,000 migrants landed on the southern Italian coast, with many of them potentially working illegally on farms through caporalato, a widespread system of illegal recruitment of underpaid farm labor run by Italian agrimafias. To test this...

Previous literature shows that internal migration rates are strongly procyclical. This would seem to imply that geographic relocation does not help mitigate negative local economic shocks during recessions. This paper shows that this is not the case. I document that net in-migration rates...

This paper investigates the effects of shocks, predominantly climate shocks, on labor market outcomes in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). We focus on migration ows within the WAEMU countries to disentangle the differential effects of shocks on migrants and non-migrants. Our...

A distinctive feature of Greek agriculture is its important position in the economy and society. Depending on the state of the national economy, and especially in times of economic recession, different population groups may consider agriculture as either a "sector of departure" or a "sector of...

This policy paper argues that efforts to regulate global labor recruitment for low-wage work should target the firm at the top of the labor supply chain (ie, the ultimate employer of the recruited workers, or -- where that employer is a subcontractor -- the end user firm to which the employer...

We propose a new approach to detect and quantify informal employment resulting from irregular migration shocks. Focusing on a largely informal sector, agriculture, and on the exogenous variation from the Arab Spring wave on southern Italian coasts, we use machine-learning techniques to document...

This work addresses the relevance of immigrant communities in a specific agricultural sector, extensive livestock husbandry - pastoralism. This activity provides a primary source of employment and income specifically in inner and remote rural areas, where intensive farming systems are...