Is ICE freezing US agriculture? Farm-level adjustment to increased local immigration enforcement

B-Tier
Journal: Labour Economics
Year: 2022
Volume: 78
Issue: C

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

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

Abstract

We study the impact of US immigration enforcement through a locally-implemented program known as 287(g) on agriculture using confidential farm-level data and farm census data. We address the endogeneity of program participation by using pre-program county jail occupancy as an instrument. We provide evidence that the agricultural sector experienced limited endogenous technical change in response to the negative labor supply shock caused by increased immigration enforcement. Fuel expenses increased, consistent with predictions of an increase in automated technology by models of endogenous technical change. However, a corresponding decline in agricultural acres and employment and an increase in labor expenditure suggests capital-labor substitution was insufficient to fully offset the impact of the shock.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:labeco:v:78:y:2022:i:c:s092753712200094x
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25