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The impact of immigration on the wage distribution in Switzerland

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  • Sandro Favre

Abstract

Recent immigrants in Switzerland are overrepresented at the top of the wage distribution in high and at the bottom in low skill occupations. Basic economic theory thus suggests that immigration has led to a compression of the wage distribution in the former group and to an expansion in the latter. The data confirm this proposition for high skill occupations, but reveal effects close to zero for low skill occupations. While the estimated wage effects are of considerable magnitude at the tails of the wage distribution in high skill occupations, the effects on overall inequality are shown to be negligible.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandro Favre, 2011. "The impact of immigration on the wage distribution in Switzerland," ECON - Working Papers 022, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    • Handle: RePEc:zur:econwp:022
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    File URL: https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/51526/1/econwp022.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Siegenthaler Michael & Graff Michael & Mannino Massimo, 2016. "Characteristics and Drivers of the Swiss “Job Miracle”," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 67(1), pages 53-89, May.
    2. Michael Graff & Massimo Mannino & Michael Siegenthaler, 2014. "The Swiss "Job Miracle"," KOF Working papers 14-368, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    3. Andreas Beerli & Giovanni Peri, 2015. "The Labor Market Effects of Opening the Border: Evidence from Switzerland," NBER Working Papers 21319, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Gil, Pedro Mazeda & Gabriel, Susana & Afonso, Oscar, 2020. "Is the skills mismatch important under skill-biased technological change and imperfect substitutability between immigrants and natives?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 38-54.
    5. Koukal, Anna Maria & Schafer, Patricia & Eichenberger, Reiner, 2021. "Enfranchising non-citizens: What drives natives’ willingness to share power?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 1088-1108.
    6. Marco Pecoraro & Didier Ruedin, 2016. "A Foreigner Who Does Not Steal My Job: The Role of Unemployment Risk and Values in Attitudes toward Equal Opportunities," International Migration Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 628-666, September.
    7. Julie Lacroix & Elena Vidal-Coso, 2019. "Differences in Labor Supply by Birthplace and Family Composition in Switzerland: the Role of Human Capital and Household Income," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 659-684, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; wage distribution; occupation groups; inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • 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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