Measuring immigration's effects on labor demand: A reexamination of the Mariel Boatlift

B-Tier
Journal: Labour Economics
Year: 2008
Volume: 15
Issue: 4
Pages: 560-574

Authors (3)

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

Why do immigration shocks tend to have benign effects on native wages? One reason is that immigrants as consumers contribute to the demand for their services. We model an economy where workers spend their wages on a locally produced good, then test it via a reexamination of the 1980 "Mariel Boatlift" using Wacziarg's Channel Transmission methodology. Current Population Survey data on workers in 9 different retail labor markets and Survey of Buying Power data on retail spending by consumers in Miami and four comparison cities are used. We find strong evidence that the Mariel Boatlift augmented labor demand.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:labeco:v:15:y:2008:i:4:p:560-574
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24