Course: Doctoral Lecture Series on Cross-Border Labor Mobility

Professor: Mushfiq Mobarak, Jackline Wahba, Lidia Farré, Philipp Ager

ECTS: 1

Aims & Objectives:

Migration is part of humanity’s DNA. It has always been a normal and inevitable response to the economic, social, political, security and environmental challenges that have punctuated human history. And yet the movement of workers in general and international migration in particular are issues that divide public opinion in every country in the world. In poor countries, migration is often linked to a ‘brain drain’ that furthers the development gap with rich countries. In many rich countries, immigration is seen as an influx of poorly qualified workers, resulting in negative impacts on the labor market and on public finances. These perceptions feed into the rhetoric of populist and far-right parties, and put immigration at the centre of public debate.

This PhD course covers topical issues related to the determinants of international migration, to its implications for sending and receiving countries, and to its effect on the world distribution of income. It is organized as a set of monthly doctoral lectures given by renowned economists in the field. Each speaker will provide a state-of-the-art analysis of existing methodologies and academic findings in his field of expertise. In particular, the topics covered will include the immigration & female’s labor supply, the impact of commuting flows & labor market discriminations, migration and firms, and migration in the context of innovation & technology diffusion. Upon completion of this course, student will have learnt about the cutting-edge developments in the migration literature and will be asked to write an essay on one of the topics covered