Migration, Unemployment, and Skill Downgrading

B-Tier
Journal: Scandanavian Journal of Economics
Year: 2015
Volume: 117
Issue: 2
Pages: 403-451

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the labor market impacts of immigration under flexible and rigid labor market regimes. A general equilibrium framework is developed, accounting for skill heterogeneity and labor market frictions, where unemployed medium-skilled manufacturing workers are downgraded into low-skilled service jobs, while low-skilled service workers might end up unemployed. The analytical analysis shows that medium-skill immigration decreases low-skilled unemployment under the flexible regime, indicating a complementarity effect, while the rigid regime induces a substitution effect, leading to low-skilled unemployment. Moreover, it leads to wage polarization. In a numerical analysis, the economic effects of different migration scenarios are quantified.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:scandj:v:117:y:2015:i:2:p:403-451
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-29