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Who stays and who leaves? Immigration and the selection of natives across locations

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  • Javier Ortega
  • Gregory Verdugo

    (OFCE - Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po)

Abstract

We study the impact of local immigration inflows on natives' wages using a large French administrative panel from 1976-2007. We show that local immigration inflows are followed by reallocations of blue-collar natives across commuting zones. Because these reallocations vary with the initial occupation and blue-collar location movers have wages below the blue-collar average, controlling for changes in local composition is crucial to assess how wages adjust to immigration. Immigration temporarily lowers the wages of blue-collar workers, with unskilled workers experiencing larger losses. Location movers lose more than stayers in terms of daily wages but move to locations with cheaper housing.

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  • Javier Ortega & Gregory Verdugo, 2021. "Who stays and who leaves? Immigration and the selection of natives across locations," Working Papers hal-03370661, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03370661
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://sciencespo.hal.science/hal-03370661
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Edo, Anthony & Özgüzel, Cem, 2024. "Corrigendum to “The impact of immigration on the employment dynamics of European regions” [Labor Economics, Volume 85, 2023, 102433]," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Schmutz, Benoît & Verdugo, Gregory, 2023. "Do elections affect immigration? Evidence from French municipalities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    4. Christian Dustmann & Sebastian Otten & Uta Schönberg & Jan Stuhler, 2025. "The Effects of Immigration on Places and People - Identification and Interpretation," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2586, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    5. Haan, Peter & Wnuk, Izabela, 2024. "The Effect of Migration on Careers of Natives: Evidence from Long-Term Care," IZA Discussion Papers 16749, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Peter Haan & Izabela Wnuk, 2024. "The Effect of Migration on Careers of Natives: Evidence from Long-term Care," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2070, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    7. Bilge, Nur & Naiditch, Claire, 2025. "The Native Mobility Response to Rising Refugees and Migrants in Turkey," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1658, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Amior, Michael & Stuhler, Jan, 2023. "Immigration, Monopsony and the Distribution of Firm Pay," CEPR Discussion Papers 18709, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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