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Immigration, Jobs, And Employment Protection: Evidence From Europe Before And During The Great Recession

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  • Francesco D'Amuri
  • Giovanni Peri

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the impact of immigrants on the type and quantity of native jobs. We use data on 15 Western European countries during the 1996–2010 period. We find that immigrants, by taking manual-routine type of occupations pushed natives towards more “complex” (abstract and communication) jobs. This job upgrade was associated to a 0.7% increase in native wages for a doubling of the immigrants' share. These results are robust to the use of an IV strategy based on past settlement of immigrants across European countries. The job upgrade slowed but did not come to a halt during the Great Recession. We also document the labor market flows behind it: the complexity of jobs offered to new native hires was higher relative to the complexity of lost jobs. Finally, we find evidence that such reallocation was larger in countries with more flexible labor laws.

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  • Francesco D'Amuri & Giovanni Peri, 2014. "Immigration, Jobs, And Employment Protection: Evidence From Europe Before And During The Great Recession," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 432-464, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jeurec:v:12:y:2014:i:2:p:432-464
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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