Determinants of international migration from the MENA region

Abstract

The objective of the article is to identify the factors influencing emigration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The hypothesis of this article assumes the existence of a negative relationship between education level and emigration. An econometric estimation on panel data, using the software EViews, allows to identify the determinants of emigration. Normality, autocorrelation of errors and heteroscedasticity tests ensure the validity of the model. The study covers the period from 2000 to 2019 and concerns seven countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. The database used is that of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The results show that the economic factors, unemployment and inflation, lead to a loss of purchasing power and remain the main motivations for emigration. Contrary to the hypothesis formulated, the educational dimensions, literacy and higher learning have a positive influence on the probability of migrating.