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The effect of immigration on the earnings of native-born workers: Evidence from Australia

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  • Kifle, Temesgen

Abstract

No consensus has been reached by previous studies on the impact of immigration on the earnings of natives. Using data from the Australia's 2001 Census of Population and Housing an individual-level earnings function is estimated by including the fraction of immigrants in a given skill group relative to total employment in that skill group as one of the independent variables. Using employees' occupation and level of education as proxies for skill, the results indicate that generally immigrants have a significant positive effect on earnings of natives. The overall findings suggest that the increase in supply of labour due to immigration is offset by higher demand for labour and hence positive effect on native earnings.

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  • Kifle, Temesgen, 2009. "The effect of immigration on the earnings of native-born workers: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 350-356, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:38:y:2009:i:2:p:350-356
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    2. Stark, Oded & Kosiorowski, Grzegorz, 2024. "An optimal allocation of asylum seekers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 1-11.
    3. Nedoncelle, Clément & Marchal, Léa & Aubry, Amandine & Héricourt, Jérôme, 2024. "Does immigration affect native wages? A meta-analysis," KCG Working Papers 31, Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG).
    4. Courtney Brell & Christian Dustmann, 2019. "Immigration and Wage Growth: The Case of Australia," RBA Annual Conference Papers acp2019-05, Reserve Bank of Australia, revised Jul 2019.
    5. Massimiliano Tani & Christopher Heaton & Gavin Chan, 2013. "The Wage Premium of Foreign Education: New Evidence from Australia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 46(4), pages 395-404, December.
    6. Anna Boucher & Robert Breunig & Cecilia Karmel, 2022. "A Preliminary Literature Review on the Effect of Immigration On Australian Domestic Employment and Wages," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 55(2), pages 263-272, June.
    7. Tse, Michael M. H. & Maani, Sholeh A., 2016. "The Labour Market Effect of Immigration: Accounting for Effective Immigrant Work Experience in New Zealand," IZA Discussion Papers 10422, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Bouton, Lawrence & Paul, Saumik & Tiongson, Erwin R., 2011. "The impact of emigration on source country wages : evidence from the Republic of Moldova," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5764, The World Bank.
    9. Mancinelli, Susanna & Mazzanti, Massimiliano & Piva, Nora & Ponti, Giovanni, 2010. "Education, reputation or network? Evidence on migrant workers employability," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 64-71, January.

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    Australia Earnings Immigrant Native;

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