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Immigration, Working Conditions, and Compensating Differentials

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  • Chad Sparber
  • Madeline Zavodny

Abstract

The large inflow of less-educated immigrants into the United States in recent decades may have affected US natives’ labor market outcomes in many ways, including their working conditions. Although the general consensus is that low-skilled immigrants tend to hold “worse†jobs than US natives, the impact of immigration on natives’ working conditions has received little attention. This study examines how immigration has affected US natives’ occupational exposure to workplace hazards and the compensating differential paid for such exposure from 1990 to 2018. Results indicate that immigration causes less-educated natives’ exposure to workplace hazards to fall, and instrumental variables results show a larger impact among women than among men. The corresponding compensating differential appears to fall among men, but not after accounting for immigration-induced changes in the financial returns to occupational skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Chad Sparber & Madeline Zavodny, 2022. "Immigration, Working Conditions, and Compensating Differentials," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 75(4), pages 1054-1081, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:75:y:2022:i:4:p:1054-1081
    DOI: 10.1177/00197939211021379
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    Cited by:

    1. Bossavie,Laurent Loic Yves & Garrote Sanchez,Daniel & Makovec,Mattia & Ozden,Caglar, 2020. "Do Immigrants Push Natives towards Safer Jobs ? Exposure to COVID-19 in the European Union," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9500, The World Bank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration; hazardous jobs; compensating differentials; risk premium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration

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