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Labour Mobility with Vocational Skill: Australian Demand and Pacific Supply

Author

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  • Chand, Satish

    (University of New South Wales)

  • Clemens, Michael A.

    (George Mason University)

Abstract

How many immigrants with less than university education, for a given immigration quota, maximise economic output? The answer is zero in the canonical model of the labour market, where the marginal product of a university-educated immigrant is always higher. We build an alternative model in which national production occurs through a set of Leontief producation functions that shift over time with technological change. This model is used to estimate that the Australian economy growing at historical rates through the year 2050 will demand approximately two million migrant TVET workers, many of which could be supplied from the Pacific Islands.

Suggested Citation

  • Chand, Satish & Clemens, Michael A., 2021. "Labour Mobility with Vocational Skill: Australian Demand and Pacific Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 14848, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14848
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    immigration; labor; low skill; TVET; training; human capital; growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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