Immigration and Wage Dynamics: Evidence from the Mexican Peso Crisis

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2020
Volume: 128
Issue: 8
Pages: 3017 - 3089

Score contribution per author:

8.043 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

How does the US labor market absorb low-skilled immigration? In the short run, high-immigration locations see their low-skilled labor force increase, native low-skilled wages decrease, and the relative price of rentals increase. Internal relocation dissipates this shock spatially. In the long run, the only lasting consequences are (a) worse labor market conditions for low-skilled natives who entered the labor force in high-immigration years, and (b) lower housing prices in high-immigrant locations, when immigrant workers disproportionately enter the construction sector and lower construction costs. I use a quantitative dynamic spatial equilibrium many-region model to obtain the policy-relevant counterfactuals.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/707764
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-26