Labor market and institutional drivers of youth irregular migration in the Middle East and North Africa region

Abstract

This article examines the drivers of youth irregular migration in the Middle East and North Africa region. A multinomial logit model is implemented to test the effect of labor market and institutional characteristics on the decision of youth to migrate using a unique and novel dataset covering young people aged 15–29 from five major Middle East and North Africa countries. Specifically, the article investigates the effect of micro determinants of irregular migration: individual socio-economic factors, wealth factors, adaptability factors, labor market factors, and institutional factors. The article finds that the labor market drivers matter more for regular rather than irregular migration amongst the youth from the Middle East and North Africa region. However, institutional settings are of great importance for any decision to migrate, be it regularly or irregularly. In addition, youth from wealthier households are more likely to express willingness to migrate using regular channels, whereas youth from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to consider the irregular route.