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Undocumented Workers' Employment Across U.S. Business Cycles

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  • J. DAVID BROWN
  • SERIFE GENC
  • JULIE L. HOTCHKISS
  • MYRIAM QUISPE-AGNOLI

Abstract

type="main" xml:lang="en"> Using matched employer-employee data from the state of Georgia, this paper investigates how employment of undocumented workers varies along the business cycle and how it differs from the adjustment in employment of documented workers. The cyclical component of undocumented employment is found to be significantly more volatile than the cyclical component of documented employment. Simulation results indicate that complementarities between documented workers and capital account for almost 90% of the difference in measured volatility between documented and undocumented employment. (JEL E24, J21, J15)

Suggested Citation

  • J. David Brown & Serife Genc & Julie L. Hotchkiss & Myriam Quispe-Agnoli, 2014. "Undocumented Workers' Employment Across U.S. Business Cycles," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(3), pages 653-670, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:32:y:2014:i:3:p:653-670
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    Cited by:

    1. Julie L. Hotchkiss & Myriam Quispe-Agnoli & Fernando Rios-Avila, 2012. "The wage impact of undocumented workers," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2012-04, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    2. Pia M. Orrenius & Madeline Zavodny & Emily Gutierrez, 2018. "Do State Employment Eligibility Verification Laws Affect Job Turnover?," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(2), pages 394-409, April.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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