The Abolition of Immigration Restrictions and the Performance of Firms and Workers: Evidence from Switzerland

Andreas Beerli, Jan Ruffner (), Michael Siegenthaler and Giovanni Peri
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Jan Ruffner: KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

No 20-486, KOF Working papers from KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich

Abstract: We study a reform that granted European cross-border workers free access to the Swiss labor market and had a stronger effect on regions close to the border. The greater availability of cross-border workers increased foreign employment substantially. Although many cross-border workers were highly educated, wages of highly educated natives increased. The reason is a simultaneous increase in labor demand: the reform increased the size, productivity, and innovation performance of skill-intensive incumbent firms and attracted new firms, creating opportunities for natives to pursue managerial jobs. These effects are mainly driven by firms that reported skill shortages before the reform.

Keywords: border region; cross-border workers; free movement of persons; firm performance; firm relocation; immigration policy; immigration restrictions; labor mobility; skilled immigration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 J22 J24 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 89 pages
Date: 2020-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-eur, nep-int, nep-sbm and nep-tid
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000432769 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The Abolition of Immigration Restrictions and the Performance of Firms and Workers: Evidence from Switzerland (2021)
Working Paper: The Abolition of Immigration Restrictions and the Performance of Firms and Workers: Evidence from Switzerland (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kof:wpskof:20-486

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