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The Impact of Low-Skilled Immigration on the Youth Labor Market

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  • Christopher L. Smith

Abstract

The employment to population rate of high school-aged youth has fallen by about 20 percentage points since the late 1980s. One potential explanation is increased competition from substitutable labor, such as immigrants. I demonstrate that the increase in the population of less educated immigrants has had a considerably more negative effect on employment outcomes for native youth than for native adults. At least two factors are at work: there is greater overlap between the jobs that youth and less educated adult immigrants traditionally do, and youth labor supply appears more responsive to immigration-induced wage changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher L. Smith, 2012. "The Impact of Low-Skilled Immigration on the Youth Labor Market," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(1), pages 55-89.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/662073
    DOI: 10.1086/662073
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