The Temporary Migration Response to Industry-Specific Shocks: Evidence from the U.S. Shale Boom
Publication Date
1-1-2016
Grant Type
Early Career Research Award
Description
The impact of local labor market conditions on migration has long been an important question in labor economics. Until recently, the literature has implicitly assumed all migrations to be permanent in nature. In empirical analyses, such an omission can underestimate the effects of labor market conditions on migration. In the proposed research, I plan to estimate the impact of local labor demand shocks, as measured by earnings, on temporary migration. The boom in oil and natural gas production from the early 2000s through 2014 represented a local labor demand shock to resource-rich areas that increased earnings and employment. While previous research suggests a large increase in permanent migration during the boom in some regions, understanding the temporary migration response to local economic conditions is of particular importance given anecdotal evidence of temporary migration and labor mobility in extractive industries.