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Native Competition and Low-Skilled Immigrant Inflows

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  • Brian C. Cadena

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that immigration decisions depend on local labor market conditions by documenting the change in low-skilled immigrant inflows in response to supply increases among the US-born. Using prereform welfare participation rates as an instrument for changes in native labor supply, I find that immigrants competing with native entrants systematically prefer cities with smaller supply shocks. The extent of the response is substantial: for each native woman working due to reform, 0.5 fewer female immigrants enter the local labor force. These results provide direct evidence that international migration flows tend to equilibrate returns across US local labor markets.

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  • Brian C. Cadena, 2013. "Native Competition and Low-Skilled Immigrant Inflows," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(4), pages 910-944.
    • Handle: RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:48:y:2013:iv:1:p:910-944
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    Cited by:

    1. Zimran, Ariell, 2022. "US immigrants’ secondary migration and geographic assimilation during the Age of Mass Migration," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    2. Osborne Jackson, 2015. "Does immigration crowd natives into or out of higher education?," Working Papers 15-18, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    3. Caballero, María Esther & Cadena, Brian C. & Kovak, Brian K., 2023. "The international transmission of local economic shocks through migrant networks," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    4. Sarah Bohn & Todd Pugatch, 2015. "U.S. Border Enforcement and Mexican Immigrant Location Choice," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(5), pages 1543-1570, October.
    5. Naguib, Costanza, 2019. "Estimating the Heterogeneous Impact of the Free Movement of Persons on Relative Wage Mobility," Economics Working Paper Series 1903, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    6. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny, 2013. "Immigrants in the U.S. labor market," Working Papers 1306, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
    7. Joyce T. Alese & Olatunji B. Alese, 2020. "Comparison of physical activity as an obesity-related behavior between immigrants and native-born US adults," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 6(1), pages 1-7, December.
    8. Mulholland, Sean E. & Hernandez-Julian, Rey, 2013. "Does Economic Freedom Lead to Selective Migration By Education?," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 43(1).
    9. Brian C. Cadena & Brian K. Kovak, 2016. "Immigrants Equilibrate Local Labor Markets: Evidence from the Great Recession," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 257-290, January.
    10. Licia Ferranna & Margherita Gerolimetto & Stefano Magrini, 2016. "The effect of immigration on convergence dynamics in the US," Working Papers 2016:27, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    11. Wozniak, Abigail & Murray, Thomas J., 2012. "Timing is everything: Short-run population impacts of immigration in US cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 60-78.

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