This paper tests the hypothesis of a beneficial brain drain using occupation-specific data on migration from developing countries to OECD countries around 2000. Distinguishing between several types of human capital allows to assess whether the impact of high-skilled south-north migration on...

This paper provides new evidence on migrant networks as determinants of the total size (scale) and skill structure of migration, using aggregate data from a recent migration boom to Spain. We draw upon McFadden (1984, 1422-1428) in order to develop and apply a three-level nested multinomial...

This paper provides evidence that transnational networks, defined as networks operating across nationalities, are shaping observed patterns of international migration. In a stylized model of migration with random friendship formation, individuals from a given origin country are attracted to...

This paper analyzes the role of ethnic communities in shaping the recent immigration boom to Spain. We find that ethnic communities exerted a strong positive effect on the scale and a strong negative effect on the skill structure of this immigration. Unlike previous studies, we explicitly...