Environmental Quality and International Migration

Anecdotal evidence suggests that people migrate to avoid air pollution. In this paper, we empirically examine the extent to which air pollution is a push factor for international migration. We allow air pollution to affect migrants differently according to their educational attainment as well as their gender. We also instrument for the level of pollution. Results generally show that air pollution is positively associated with emigration for higher educated individuals but less so for those with less educational attainment. Gender differences are less pronounced.