Journal of Economic Perspectives
ISSN 0895-3309 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7965 (Online)
The Impact of Immigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment and Growth
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 9,
no. 2, Spring 1995
(pp. 23–44)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
The popular belief that immigrants have a large adverse impact on the wages and employment opportunities of the native-born population of the receiving country is not supported by the empirical evidence. A 10 percent increase in the fraction of immigrants in the population reduces native wages by 0-1 percent. Even those natives who are the closest substitutes with immigrant labor do not suffer significantly as a result of increased immigration. There is no evidence of economically significant reductions in native employment. The impact on natives' per capita income growth depends crucially on the immigrants' human capital levels.Citation
Friedberg, Rachel M., and Jennifer Hunt. 1995. "The Impact of Immigrants on Host Country Wages, Employment and Growth." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 9 (2): 23–44. DOI: 10.1257/jep.9.2.23JEL Classification
- J61 Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
- F22 International Migration
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital
- O47 Measurement of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
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