The use of natural experiments in migration research

Semih Tumen

IZA World of Labor, 2015, No 191, 191

Abstract: Estimating the causal effect of immigration on the labor market outcomes of native workers has been a major concern in the literature. Because immigrants decide whether and where to migrate, immigrant populations generally consist of individuals with characteristics that differ from those of a randomly selected sample. One solution is to focus on events such as civil wars and natural catastrophes that generate rapid and unexpected flows of refugees into a country unrelated to their personal characteristics, location, and employment preferences. These “natural experiments” yield estimates that find small negative effects on native workers’ employment but not on wages.

Keywords: refugees; natural experiments; identification; causal effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C18 F22 J15 J61 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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