The Economics of International Immigration: Environment, Unemployment, the Wage Gap, and Economic Welfare

252 Pages·2017·2.76 MB·English

by  Kenji Kondoh (auth.)

New Frontiers in Regional Science: Asian Perspectives 27
Kenji Kondoh
The Economics
of International
Immigration
Environment, Unemployment, the Wage
Gap, and Economic Welfare
New Frontiers in Regional Science:
Asian Perspectives
Volume 27
EditorinChief
YoshiroHigano,UniversityofTsukuba
ManagingEditors
MakotoTawada(GeneralManagingEditor),AichiGakuinUniversity
KiyokoHagihara,BukkyoUniversity
LilyKiminami,NiigataUniversity
EditorialBoard
SakaiYasuhiro(AdvisorChiefJapan),ShigaUniversity
YasuhideOkuyama,UniversityofKitakyushu
ZhengWang,ChineseAcademyofSciences
YuzuruMiyata,ToyohashiUniversityofTechnology
HiroyukiShibusawa,ToyohashiUniversityofTechnology
SaburoSaito,FukuokaUniversity
MakotoOkamura,HiroshimaUniversity
MorikiHosoe,KumamotoGakuenUniversity
BudyPrasetyoResosudarmo,CrawfordSchoolofPublicPolicy,ANU
Shin-KunPeng,AcademiaSinica
GeoffreyJohnDennisHewings,UniversityofIllinois
EuijuneKim,SeoulNationalUniversity
SrijitMishra,IndiraGandhiInstituteofDevelopmentResearch
AmitrajeetA.Batabyal,RochesterInstituteofTechnology
YizhiWang,ShanghaiAcademyofSocialSciences
DanielShefer,Technion-IsraelInstituteofTechnology
AkiraKiminami,TheUniversityofTokyo
AdvisoryBoard
Peter Nijkamp (Chair, Ex Officio Member of Editorial Board), Free University
Amsterdam
RachelS.Franklin,BrownUniversity
MarkD.Partridge,OhioStateUniversity
JacquesPoot,UniversityofWaikato
AuraReggiani,UniversityofBologna
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Kenji Kondoh
The Economics of
International Immigration
Environment, Unemployment, the Wage Gap,
and Economic Welfare
123
KenjiKondoh
SchoolofEconomics
ChukyoUniversity
Nagoya,Aichi
Japan
ISSN2199-5974 ISSN2199-5982 (electronic)
NewFrontiersinRegionalScience:AsianPerspectives
ISBN978-981-10-0091-1 ISBN978-981-10-0092-8 (eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-981-10-0092-8
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Preface
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, we have been living in a state of
drastic social transition; indeed, it is surprising that nobody forecast such extreme
changes. Especially in Japan, the increase in the gap between the rich and poor
hasbecomequitelarge,followingthestructuralreformsoftheJun-ichiroKoizumi
cabinet. The power of big business is quite formidable, and the status of workers
is in a very fluid state. Indeed, it seems that so-called disposable workers are
no longer “human beings.” Younger generations are completely exhausted by the
newstateofexploitation—benignlyreferredtoas“non-regularemployment”—and
have little hope for the future. They can be easily replaced by foreign unskilled
workers.Theyareexcludedfromlaborunionprotectionsthataretypicallyinplace
solelyforregularworkers.Andtheyarelookinginvainforrosyopportunitiesjust
to become regular workers. They find that they cannot marry, as having a stable
position and a sufficient income is considered prerequisites to marriage. Foreign
workers employed as technical interns also find themselves in terrible situations:
they are being exploited with wage rates that are much lower than legal minimum
standards.Theymustworklonghoursasunskilledworkersandcannotacquireany
new promised occupational skills. Disappointed from such unfair treatment, they
quit their jobs, but then find (at least in Japan) that they have no public status or
employmentinsurance.Someofthemturntocrime,aswhattheyconsidertheonly
remainingmeansofsurvival.Ontheotherhand,bigbusinessiswarmlysupported
bythegovernmentonthepretextofnationalprofitsandthemaintenanceofglobal
competitive power. Why on earth is it that for 15 years we, the common people,
havehadtostruggleforonlysmallandordinarylevelsofhappiness?
More than 20 years have passed since I started research on international
migration, while teaching economics to students. I have made an effort to inves-
tigate the economic policies that pertain to workers who find themselves in the
aforementionedweaksituations.Especially,Ihavestudiedthestringentlycontrolled
immigration policies of developed countries, where the disadvantages of free
immigrationhavecometopredominateitspositiveeconomiceffectsonproduction
ornationalincome.Ibelievethatthetopicsofshrinkingpopulation,environmental
pollution, natural renewable resources, and regional economic integration should
vii
viii Preface
also be reconsidered within the context of international labor inflows. On the
other hand, I have also confirmed the importance of theoretic studies being
transparent. Contemporary problems should be considered, and political opinions
shouldbeproposedonlyfromtheperspectiveoflevel-headedtheoreticalanalyses,
followingtheuseofneutrallyconstructedeconomicmodelsthatlackanyarbitrary
assumptions.
I have been able to carry out all my research precisely and accurately, because
of the various kinds of help and support I have received. First of all, I would
like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Makoto Tawada, my supervisor, for
his instruction throughout the years. I not only studied from him the “ABCs” of
economic research but also came to know from him, my role model, what a true
researcherlookslike.IalsosincerelythankProf.NgoVanLongforhisconstructive
advice on earlier versions of the studies in this book. Chapters 5, 10, and 12 are
based on joint studies with Profs. Laixun Zhao, Shigemi Yabuuchi, and Nicola D.
Coniglio,respectively.Thankstothosecoauthors,Iwasabletoconsiderablywiden
my vision. I am grateful that the Japan section of RSAI and Springer Japan have
givenmetheopportunitytopublishthisbook.IwishalsotothankB&ESI,Elsevier,
JSIE, John Wiley and Sons, Riham Hindawi, and Taylor & Francis for their kind
treatmentofcopyrightsonmypublishedstudies.Everychapterofthisbookisbased
on research I previously presented in academic research meetings, workshops, or
conferences; additionally, some of them had been formerly published in academic
journalsfollowingrespectivereviewingprocesses.Iamgratefulfortheusefuland
constructive comments and suggestions I received on all such occasions; among
them,IwouldliketothankProf.EdenS.H.Yuforhiskindinvitationtotakepart
inthe2009APJAEsymposiumandtheparticipantsoftheNagoyaEconomicStudy
Group(NIESG)quarterlyworkshop,nowinits12thyear.
Finally, I am thankful for the financial support provided by Grants-in-Aid
for Scientific Research (KAKEN) in Japan (C) (15530167, 19530255, 19530210,
22530244, and 25380340); a scholarship from the Japan Center of Economic
Research (2007); and an Erasmus Mundus scholarship for the master program
Economics of International Trade and European Integration (2010–2011). I am
alsogratefulfortheassistanceofthelateProf.KiyoshiKojimaandoftheKojima
FoundationoftheJapanSocietyofInternationalEconomics.In2012,Iwasawarded
theKojimaKiyoshiPrize,anditisthegreatesthonorofmyresearchlife.
Contents
1 IntroductionandSummary ............................................... 1
1.1 Introduction........................................................... 1
1.1.1 HistoricalViewofInternationalImmigration............. 1
1.1.2 InternationalImmigrationinAsianCountries............. 4
1.2 EconomicTheoryonInternationalMigration:SpecialSubjects... 11
1.2.1 Unemployment ............................................. 12
1.2.2 NontradableSector ......................................... 13
1.2.3 HumanUtilityMaximization .............................. 13
1.2.4 CapitalOwner .............................................. 14
1.2.5 DiversityinQualityofWorkers............................ 15
1.2.6 NegativeEffectsonNatives................................ 16
1.2.7 TheSecondMobileFactor................................. 17
1.2.8 HumanNetworks........................................... 18
1.3 SummaryofThisText ............................................... 19
1.3.1 Part I: International Migration
andtheEconomyoftheHostCountry..................... 19
1.3.2 Part II: International Immigration
andtheLaborMarket....................................... 20
1.3.3 Part III: International Immigration
andtheNaturalEnvironment............................... 21
1.3.4 Part IV: International Immigration
andEconomicIntegration.................................. 22
References.................................................................... 23
PartI InternationalMigrationandtheEconomyoftheHost
Country
2 PermanentMigrantsandCross-BorderWorkers:The
EffectsontheHostCountry............................................... 31
2.1 Introduction........................................................... 31
2.2 TheModel............................................................ 33
ix