Domicián Máté,

University of Debrecen,

Faculty of Economics and Business, 

Debrecen, Hungary,

E-mail:

mate.domician@econ.unideb.hu

The Role of Regional Differences in Immigration: The Case of OECD Countries

Imran Sarihasan,

University of Debrecen,

Károly Ihrig Doctoral School

Debrecen, Hungary,

E-mail: imran.sarihasan@econ.unideb.hu

József Popp,

University of Debrecen,

Faculty of Economics and Business, 

Debrecen, Hungary,

E-mail: popp.jozsef@econ.unideb.hu

Judit Oláh,

University of Debrecen,

Faculty of Economics and Business, 

Debrecen, Hungary,

E-mail: olah.judit@econ.unideb.hu

Abstract. Despite physical, cultural, economic and other obstacles, millions of people have recently emigrated from one country to another in search of a better life. Consequently, the importance of this research topic has grown over time. Analysis of this regional approach is based on the OECD censuses, and its unique Database on Immigrants (DIOC), which makes it possible to generate a wide variety of cross-tabulations on the characteristics of asylum-seekers by the country of their birth. The aim of this study is to contribute to literature by analysing the role of regional differences in migration more closely in terms of the importance of migration regulation policies in the OECD countries. According to the results based on Binary Logistic (Logit) and Linear (OLS) Regression models, the educational attainment, age, sex and the place of birth of migrants are related in different ways to their region of origin. Moreover, male migrants are more skilled than females, migrants who are more educated are older than the less skilled, and foreign-born migrants seemed to be older than native-born migrants. There is also additional evidence suggesting that different regions and countries might follow different policies and norms for admission of migrants. Therefore, forthcoming migration governance programs that aim to facilitate the labour market integration of migrants should also take into consideration their regional characteristics.

Received: April, 2018

1st Revision: May, 2018

Accepted: August, 2018

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2018/11-3/12

JEL Classification: K37, J21, J15

Keywords: migration, regionalism, educational attainment, aging, OECD