Least Protected, Most Affected: Impacts of Migration Regularization Programs on Pandemic Resilience

Abstract

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Electoral Effects of Integrating Forced Migrants: Evidence from a Southern Country

“…It was offered to every Venezuelan in Colombia who registered in a census of irregular migrants between April and June 2018. As documented by Ibá ñez et al (2022) and Urbina et al (2023), the PEP program profoundly affected the well-being of treated Venezuelan migrants through improvements in their labor income, consumption, and health.…”

“…Most studies in this area have examined the impacts of amnesties on labor markets in the Global North (Cobb-Clark et al 1995, Kaushal 2006, Amuedo-Dorantes et al 2007, Amuedo-Dorantes and Bansak 2011, Chassamboulli and Peri 2015, Amuedo-Dorantes and Antman 2017, Devillanova et al 2018, Monras et al 2018, with others on the impacts of amnesties on crime behaviors (Baker 2015, Mastrobuoni and Pinotti 2015, Pinotti 2017) and a few on the impacts of amnesties in the Global South (Fallah et al 2019). The work most closely related to ours considers the implications of the PEP for Colombian hosting communities, including impacts on labor markets (Bahar et al 2021), crime (Bahar et al 2022), firm development (Bahar et al 2023), inequality (Lombardo et al 2021), and migrant wellbeing (Ibá ñez et al 2022, Urbina et al 2023. Our contribution relative to this work is the novel evaluation of the electoral implications of this type of program.…”

Electoral Effects of Integrating Forced Migrants: Evidence from a Southern Country

“…Most studies in this area have examined the impacts of amnesties on labor markets in the Global North (Cobb-Clark et al 1995, Kaushal 2006, Amuedo-Dorantes et al 2007, Amuedo-Dorantes and Bansak 2011, Chassamboulli and Peri 2015, Amuedo-Dorantes and Antman 2017, Devillanova et al 2018, Monras et al 2018, with others on the impacts of amnesties on crime behaviors (Baker 2015, Mastrobuoni and Pinotti 2015, Pinotti 2017) and a few on the impacts of amnesties in the Global South (Fallah et al 2019). The work most closely related to ours considers the implications of the PEP for Colombian hosting communities, including impacts on labor markets (Bahar et al 2021), crime (Bahar et al 2022), firm development (Bahar et al 2023), inequality (Lombardo et al 2021), and migrant wellbeing (Ibá ñez et al 2022, Urbina et al 2023. Our contribution relative to this work is the novel evaluation of the electoral implications of this type of program.…”