Full Citation

Title: Immigrants Equilibrate Local Labor Markets: Evidence from the Great Recession

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2016

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: 10.1257/app.20140095

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Abstract: This paper demonstrates that low-skilled Mexican-born immigrants’ location choices respond strongly to changes in local labor demand, which helps equalize spatial differences in employment outcomes for low-skilled native workers. We leverage the substantial geographic variation in labor demand during the Great Recession to identify migration responses to local shocks and find that low-skilled Mexican-born immigrants respond much more strongly than low-skilled natives. Further, Mexican mobility reduced the incidence of local demand shocks on natives, such that those living in metro areas with a substantial Mexican-born population experienced a roughly 50 percent weaker relationship between local shocks and local employment probabilities.

Url: https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/app.20140095

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Cadena, Brian, C; Kovak, Brian, K

Periodical (Full): American Economic Journal-Applied Economics

Issue: 1

Volume: 8

Pages: 257-290

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Race and Ethnicity

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