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Task Specialization, Wage, and Immigration in Canada

Author

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  • Shiyu Jiang

    (School of Public Finance and Taxation, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics)

Abstract

This paper uses Canadian census data to undertake research on the effects of immigration on employees’ performance in the Canadian labor market. By generating a new method to define communication and manual tasks, this paper concentrates on changes in task supplies in the labor market resulting from changes in immigration to Canada. This paper also studies the effects of a change in the foreign-born worker share on task compensations. In this paper, the Canadian labor market is separated into two groups based on workers' educational attainments, and these two groups have different reactions to an increase in the share of immigrant workers in the labor market. Using a regression model, I estimate compensations for communication and manual tasks respectively to study how relative compensation variation is affected by the foreign-born worker share. I find some important evidence of immigration effects on the Canadian labor market, and these effects vary across metropolitan areas and years. The increase in the foreign born share will lead both the relative supply of communication versus manual tasks (C/M) and the relative compensations of these tasks (Wc/Wm) to go up in the highly-educated workers group. However, the Canadian immigration does not impact the less-educated group quite significantly because of the smaller size of this group in the labor market.

Suggested Citation

  • Shiyu Jiang, 2021. "Task Specialization, Wage, and Immigration in Canada," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 22(2), pages 389-420, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cuf:journl:y:2021:v:22:i:2:jiang
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giovanni Peri & Chad Sparber, 2016. "Task Specialization, Immigration, and Wages," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: The Economics of International Migration, chapter 3, pages 81-115 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Ottaviano, Gianmarco & Peri, Giovanni, 2008. "Immigration and National Wages: Clarifying the Theory and the Empirics," CEPR Discussion Papers 6916, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
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    8. Casey Warman & Matthew D. Webb & Christopher Worswick, 2019. "Immigrant category of admission and the earnings of adults and children: how far does the apple fall?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(1), pages 53-112, January.
    9. Giovanni Peri & Chad Sparber, 2016. "Task Specialization, Immigration, and Wages," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Economics of International Migration, chapter 3, pages 81-115, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Adserà, Alícia & Ferrer, Ana, 2016. "Occupational skills and labour market progression of married immigrant women in Canada," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 88-98.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; Relative wage differences; Task specialization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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