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On the welfare impacts of an immigration amnesty

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  • Joël MACHADO

    (UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES))

Abstract

This paper aims to assess the effects of an immigration amnesty on agents' welfare by using a simple two-period overlapping generations model. Given that illegal immigrants play a role in the economy even before being regularized, an amnesty differs from new immigration. In the presence of labor market discrimination, capital holders are harmed as the acquisition of legal status increases the wage bill that they pay. The net fiscal effect strongly depends on the discrimination that illegal workers face ex ante. A calibration of the model on Germany and the United Kingdom highlights overall limited economic consequences of amnesty which can be contrasted to the effects of deportation and new legal immigration. In particular, when public welfare expenditures are low, amnesty and new immigration can increase native's welfare in the long run while deportation might harm less-educated agents.

Suggested Citation

  • Joël MACHADO, 2012. "On the welfare impacts of an immigration amnesty," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2012010, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvir:2012010
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    File URL: http://sites.uclouvain.be/econ/DP/IRES/2012010.pdf
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    2. Mark G. Guzman & Joseph H. Haslag & Pia M. Orrenius, 2015. "Government policy under price uncertainty: A source of volatility in illegal immigration," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 48(3), pages 940-962, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    illegal immigration; amnesty; regularization; discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F29 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Other
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J79 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Other

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