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The Fallacy of “Job Robbing”: A Meta-Analysis of Estimates of the Effect of Immigration on Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Simonetta Longhi

    (University of Essex)

  • Peter Nijkamp

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Jacques Poot

    (University of Waikato)

Abstract

Immigration is a phenomenon of growing significance in many countries. Increasing social tensions are leading to political pressure to limit a further influx of foreign-born persons on the grounds that the absorption capacity of host countries has been exceeded and social cohesion threatened. There is also in public discourse a common perception of immigration resulting in economic costs, particularly with respect to wages and employment opportunities of the native born. This warrants a scientific assessment, using comparative applied research, of the empirical validity of the perception of a negative impact of immigration on labour market outcomes. Applying meta-analytic techniques to 165 estimates from 9 recent studies for various OECD countries, we assess in this paper whether immigration leads to job displacement among native workers. The ‘consensus estimate’ of the decline in native-born employment following a 1 percent increase in the number of immigrants is a mere 0.024 percent. However, the impact is somewhat larger on female than on male employment. The negative employment effect is also greater in Europe than in the United States. Furthermore, the results are sensitive to the choice of the study design. For example, failure to control for endogeneity of immigration itself leads to an underestimate of its employment impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Simonetta Longhi & Peter Nijkamp & Jacques Poot, 2006. "The Fallacy of “Job Robbing”: A Meta-Analysis of Estimates of the Effect of Immigration on Employment," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 06-050/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20060050
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Torben Schmidt & Peter Jensen, 2013. "Foreign labor and regional labor markets: aggregate and disaggregate impact on growth and wages in Danish regions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 50(3), pages 809-840, June.
    2. LSE Enterprise,, 2011. "Study on the impact of the single market on cohesion: implications for cohesion policy, growth and competitiveness," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 42840, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Fernando Rios-Avila & Gustavo Canavire-Bacarreza, 2020. "The Effect of Immigration on Labor Market Transitions of Native-Born Unemployed in the United States," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 295-331, September.
    4. Simonetta LONGHI & Peter NIJKAMP & Jacques POOT, 2008. "Meta-Analysis Of Empirical Evidence On The Labour Market Impacts Of Immigration," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 27, pages 161-191.
    5. Gerdes, Christer & Wadensjö, Eskil, 2008. "The Impact of Immigration on Election Outcomes in Danish Municipalities," IZA Discussion Papers 3586, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Peter Huber & Gabriele Tondl, 2012. "Migration and regional convergence in the European Union," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 439-460, November.
    7. de la Rica, Sara & Glitz, Albrecht & Ortega, Francesc, 2013. "Immigration in Europe: Trends, Policies and Empirical Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 7778, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Wilson, E. J. & Jayanthakumaran, K. & Verma, R., 2012. "Demographics, Labor Mobility, and Productivity," ADBI Working Papers 387, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    9. Ángel Melguizo & José González-Páramo, 2013. "Who bears labour taxes and social contributions? A meta-analysis approach," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 4(3), pages 247-271, August.
    10. S. Longhi & P. Nijkamp & J. Poot, 2010. "Joint impacts of immigration on wages and employment: review and meta-analysis," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 355-387, December.
    11. Jan Ekberg, 2011. "Will Future Immigration to Sweden Make it Easier to Finance the Welfare System?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 103-124, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Immigration; Employment; Meta-Analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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