Skill certifications and migrant labor market integration
Experimental evidence from Colombia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24214330 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matías Busso (0000-0001-5632-9129), Carolina Gonzalez-Velosa, Juan Muñoz-Morales (0000-0001-6891-1773), Juanita Ruiz, Juan D Valencia, Cynthia Van Der Werf |
| Year | 2027 |
| Volume | 185 |
| Pages | 103949 |
| Publication date | 2027-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Development Economics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0304-3878 • E-ISSN: 1872-6089 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2026.103949 |
| OpenAlex | W7214599067 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
This paper studies whether government-issued skill certification improves labor market integration when workers’ skills are hard to verify. We evaluate a randomized offer of access to an occupation-specific certification program in Colombia among locals and migrants, two groups with different ex ante signaling capacity. The program certifies existing skills rather than providing training. Among locals, the offer increases employment by reducing inactivity and raises hours worked. The effects persist unevenly over time and are robust to attrition bounds and alternative outcome measures. Among migrants, estimates are less precise and provide no evidence of effects in employment, hours, or wages. The results show that a common skill certification generates different patterns of labor-market adjustment among locals and migrants.
economic inactivity · Employment · labor market adjustment · signaling · skill certification · wage effects · Working hours · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Occupational and Professional Licensing Regulation
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| Highly cited | No |
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