Jerg Gutmann (University of Freiburg) 1.12.2022

It is our pleasure that Dr. Jerg Gutmann (University of Freiburg) will present on Thursday December 1, 2022 at 12:45 in room RB437 about his research on the topic „Women’s Rights and the Gender Migration Gap”

BIO: Dr. Gutmann is an Assistant Professor (on leave) at the Institute of Law and Economics of the University of Hamburg and a CESifo Affiliate. Since May 2022, he is the Acting Professor of Public Finance and Monetary Economics at the University of Freiburg. He has published more than 20 papers in prestigious journals like European Journal of Political Economy, Journal of Comparative Economics, or European Journal of Law and Economics, Public Choice.

ABSTRACT:

This is the first global study of how women’s rights and gender discrimination affect the gender migration gap (GMG). We estimate a gravity equation derived from a RUM model of migration that accounts for migrants’ gender using data on 158 origin and 37 destination countries over the period 1961-2019. Instrumental variable estimates indicate that improving gender equality in economic or political rights generally deepens the GMG, which means that female emigration is reduced relative to that of men. In line with our theory, this average effect is driven by higher-income countries. In contrast, an increase in gender equality in lower-income countries reduces the GMG in these countries by facilitating female emigration.