Immigrant Selection over the Business Cycle: The Spanish Boom and the Great Recession

Spain received more immigrants than any other European country during its boom between 1997 and 2007 but continued receiving them during the recession that followed. This paper documents the selection of these immigrants in terms of their productive characteristics both before and after the peak of the boom. Pre-crisis immigrants were typically positively selected although selection was less positive for some over-represented national groups. Post-crisis immigration became even more positively selected, as well as older and more feminized.