Bilateral mobility in dualistic models

In the standard Harris–Todaro framework, migration flows arise as disequilibrium driven movements of the population. It is the purpose of this research to modify the simple dualistic model in order to account for the existence of permanent migrants, i.e., of individuals who work in another country without changing their original nationality. Or, in the rural–urban interpretation of the model, of people who live in an area but work in another — ultimately, commuters. The framework is applicable to study differences in industry (or occupation) unemployment rates and sensitivity of such rates to easier (multiple) job access of certain sub-groups. It may also be seen as an attempt to study theoretically what is the long-run impact of partial integration of labor markets on macroeconomic equilibrium aggregates. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: O15; O18; R23; J38; J42; J61; J62; F22