We describe crime attributable to the Mariel Boatlift, the 1980 Cuban refugee crisis that increased Miami’s population by nearly 10%. Using synthetic control methods to match Miami with cities that exhibit similar pre-intervention crime patterns, we find the phenomenon comparatively increased property crime and murder rates; we also document weaker but suggestive relative growth in violent crime. Compositional features of the newcomers partially drive results; the disproportionately young, male Cubans’ characteristics highly correlate with illicit activity. However, the degree of prior incarceration and psychiatric institutionalization likely explains the majority of the observed effects. Given the group’s unique composition and the absence of rigorous screening, it likely constitutes the worst observed migration event in terms of public safety in US history. The Marielitos bear little resemblance to other groups of newcomers. Hence, it would be imprudent to use crime connected with the 1980 event we study to inform immigration policy.

We use mobile phone usage data to measure the extent of segregation of Syrian refugees in Turkey, and analyze its role in their internal mobility patterns. We construct a range of dissimilarity and normalized isolation indices using the hourly phone call volume of refugees and natives. The richness of the data allows us to compute the indices across different provinces and over time. Segregation levels show high variation across the country, with significantly lower levels of segregation in provinces with a higher share of refugees. Refugee mobility across provinces over time appears to be negatively correlated with segregation at destination, while native mobility is not. Based on data from Istanbul, segregation does not influence intra-province mobility. This is possibly due to the differences in segregation indices across the hours of the day, suggesting that residential segregation is higher than labor market segregation.

We explore various means of quantifying integration using two of the D4R Challenge datasets. We propose various integration indices and discuss their output. We combine the data from the D4R Challenge with data from the GDELT Project and with data on transactions on the housing market in Turkey. We also describe research directions to be undertaken in the future using the D4R data.

Understanding the determinants of migration patterns and the selection of migrants is of paramount importance in a world in which over 240 million people have migrated and many more are considering doing so. This paper adds to the literature on this topic by (i) using micro-level wage data for a large number of source and destination countries, and (ii) identifying the impact of bilateral variables, e.g. distance, and source and destination country characteristics using a two-step estimation strategy that allows for estimation over a full matrix of migration corridors and better addresses the issue of multilateral resistance to migration. The results highlight how geography (distances, contiguity and country size) and wage differentials matter for determining migration flows and the differential selection of low and high skilled migrants.JEL Codes: F22, F66, J61.

This study suggests that MOB and similar prevention programs have the potential to reduce Medicare costs. Further research accounting for program delivery costs would help inform the development of Medicare-covered preventive benefits.