On the Determinants of International Migration in the Philippines: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This article explores the roles of population, average earnings and employment rates in the sending and host countries on international migration. Using a model designed by Schultz (1982) for rural-urban migration, it also tests the validity of two hypotheses, namely, 1) the Harris-Todaro expected earnings hypothesis and 2) the symmetry hypothesis of effects of sending and host area variables on migration. The empirical analysis examines international migration from the Philippines to 26 non-Middle Eastern countries in the period 1981–1995. It uses fixed effects panel data regression method to determine the impact of the economic variables in the sending and host countries. Finally, it looks into the influence of economic transformations in the Philippines and the host countries, as well as the relaxation of migration policies by the host countries on the actual migration of Filipinos in the period 1987–1995.