Immigrants Equilibrate Local Labor Markets: Evidence from the Great Recession

Brian Cadena and Brian Kovak

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 257-90

Abstract: This paper demonstrates that low-skilled Mexican-born immigrants' location choices respond strongly to changes in local labor demand, which helps equalize spatial differences in employment outcomes for low-skilled native workers. We leverage the substantial geographic variation in labor demand during the Great Recession to identify migration responses to local shocks and find that low-skilled Mexican-born immigrants respond much more strongly than low-skilled natives. Further, Mexican mobility reduced the incidence of local demand shocks on natives, such that those living in metro areas with a substantial Mexican-born population experienced a roughly 50 percent weaker relationship between local shocks and local employment probabilities. (JEL E32, J15, J23, J24, J61, R23)

JEL-codes: E32 J15 J23 J24 J61 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20140095
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (171)

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Working Paper: Immigrants Equilibrate Local Labor Markets: Evidence from the Great Recession (2013)
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