The Effect of Labor Migration on the Diffusion of Democracy: Evidence from a Former Soviet Republic
- (pp. 36-69)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Migration contributes to the circulation of goods, knowledge, and ideas. Using community and individual-level data from Moldova, we show that the emigration wave that started in the aftermath of the Russian crisis of 1998 strongly affected electoral outcomes and political preferences in Moldova during the following decade, eventually contributing to the fall of the last Communist government in Europe. Our results are suggestive of information transmission and cultural diffusion channels. Identification relies on the quasi-experimental context and on the differential effects arising from the fact that emigration was directed both to more democratic Western Europe and to less democratic Russia.Citation
Barsbai, Toman, Hillel Rapoport, Andreas Steinmayr, and Christoph Trebesch. 2017. "The Effect of Labor Migration on the Diffusion of Democracy: Evidence from a Former Soviet Republic." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 9 (3): 36-69. DOI: 10.1257/app.20150517Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- F22 International Migration
- P23 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Factor and Product Markets; Industry Studies; Population
- P26 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Political Economy; Property Rights
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