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Employment of Undocumented Immigrants and the Prospect of Legal Status: Evidence from an Amnesty Program 

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  • Carlo Devillanova
  • Francesco Fasani
  • Tommaso Frattini

Abstract

This article estimates the causal effect of the prospect of legal status on the employment outcomes of undocumented immigrants. The identification strategy exploits a natural experiment provided by an Italian amnesty program that introduced an exogenous discontinuity in eligibility based on date of arrival. The authors find that immigrants who are potentially eligible for legal status under the amnesty program have a significantly higher probability of being employed relative to undocumented immigrants who are not eligible. The size of the estimated effect is equivalent to about half the increase in employment that undocumented immigrants in our sample normally experience during their first year in Italy. These findings are robust to several checks and falsification exercises.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlo Devillanova & Francesco Fasani & Tommaso Frattini, 2018. "Employment of Undocumented Immigrants and the Prospect of Legal Status: Evidence from an Amnesty Program ," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 71(4), pages 853-881, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:71:y:2018:i:4:p:853-881
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    Cited by:

    1. Matilda Kilström & Birthe Larsen & Elisabet Olme, 2023. "Temporary refugee protection and labor-market outcomes," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(4), pages 1895-1929, October.
    2. Battaglia, Emily, 2023. "Did DACA Harm US-Born Workers? Temporary Work Visas and Labor Market Competition," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    3. Giuntella, Osea & Lonsky, Jakub & Mazzonna, Fabrizio & Stella, Luca, 2021. "Immigration policy and immigrants’ sleep. Evidence from DACA," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 1-12.
    4. Battisti, Michele & Giesing, Yvonne & Laurentsyeva, Nadzeya, 2019. "Can job search assistance improve the labour market integration of refugees? Evidence from a field experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    5. Nelly Elmallakh & Jackline Wahba, 2022. "Return migrants and the wage premium: does the legal status of migrants matter?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(4), pages 1631-1685, October.
    6. Giacomo Battiston & Lucia Corno & Eliana La Ferrara, 2024. "Informing Risky Migration: Evidence from a field experiment in Guinea," DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza def136, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    7. Eric Schuss, 2020. "Substantial Labor Market Effects of the Residency Status," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 993-1026, December.
    8. Lochmann, Alexia & Rapoport, Hillel & Speciale, Biagio, 2019. "The effect of language training on immigrants’ economic integration: Empirical evidence from France," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 265-296.
    9. Claudio Deiana & Ludovica Giua & Roberto Nisticò, "undated". "Legalization and Long-Term Outcomes of Immigrant Workers," Development Working Papers 480, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    10. Carlo Lombardo & Julián Martinez-Correa & Leonardo Peñaloza-Pacheco & Leonardo Gasparini, 2022. "The distributional effect of a migratory exodus in a developing country: the role of downgrading and regularization," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4573, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    11. Berlanda, Andrea & Lodigiani, Elisabetta & Tosetti, Elisa & Vittadini, Giorgio, 2024. "The impact of EU enlargement on immigrants’ mental health," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 116-135.
    12. Ibáñez,Ana María & Moya,Andres & Ortega,María Adelaida & Rozo,Sandra V. & Urbina,Maria Jose, 2022. "Life out of the Shadows : Impacts of Amnesties in the Lives of Refugees," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9928, The World Bank.
    13. George J. Borjas & Anthony Edo, 2023. "Monopsony, Efficiency, and the Regularization of Undocumented Immigrants," Working Papers 2023-18, CEPII research center.
    14. Borjas, George J. & Edo, Anthony, 2023. "Monopsony, Efficiency, and the Regularization of Undocumented Immigrants," IZA Discussion Papers 16297, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Ortega, Francesc & Hsin, Amy, 2022. "Occupational barriers and the productivity penalty from lack of legal status," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Bernt Bratsberg & Oddbjørn Raaum & Knut Røed, 2021. "Excess churn in integrated labor markets," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(3), pages 865-892, July.
    17. Bahar, Dany & Ibáñez, Ana María & Rozo, Sandra V., 2021. "Give me your tired and your poor: Impact of a large-scale amnesty program for undocumented refugees," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    18. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Borra, Cristina & Rivera Garrido, Noelia, 2019. "Fertility Implications of Policy Granting Legal Status Based on Offspring's Nationality," IZA Discussion Papers 12641, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Claudio Deiana & Ludovica Giua & Roberto Nisticò, 2021. "Getting Off on the Wrong Foot: The Long-Term Effects of Missing a Large-Scale Amnesty for Immigrant Workers," CSEF Working Papers 625, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    20. Emanuele Bracco & Luisanna Onnis, 2022. "Immigration, amnesties, and the shadow economy," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(4), pages 1135-1162, October.
    21. Chiara Maria Zisler & Eric Bettinger & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2024. "Empowering refugees: The role of comprehensive training programs in labor market integration," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0218, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    22. Giacomo Battiston & Lucia Corno & Eliana La Ferrara, 2024. "Informing Risky Migration: Evidence from a field experiment in Guinea," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 2434, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    23. Strazzeri, Maurizio, 2021. "Assessing the Role of Asylum Policies in Refugees' Labor Market Integration: The Case of Protection Statuses in the German Asylum System," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242395, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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