Wage differences between the so-called "Braziguaios" and the Brazilian emigrants coming back from the United States: an application of counter-factuals micro-simulation

Denise Marques, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)
Geovane Maximo, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)

This paper, focusing on the social-economic characteristics as well as demographic attributes of the international emigrants received in Brazil from 1995 to 2000, means to investigate the importantance of the relationship between schooling and income/average hour of those returning from the USA in the above mentioned period through a counter-factual micro-simulation, supposing the latter had the same schooling as those returning from Paraguay and vice-versa. The results demonstrate that Brazilian emigrants returning from USA received an average 25% lower wage in case they had the same schooling as the emigrants returning from Paraguay. Those returning from Paraguay, on the other hand, having the same schooling as those returning from USA would have an average increase of 13.8% in their wages. This result appears to confirm the Human Capital Theory, since schooling has explained most of the existing wage differences observed.