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When immigrants meet exporters: A reassessment of the migrant-native wage gap

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  • Marchal, Léa
  • Ourens, Guzmán
  • Sabbadini, Giulia

Abstract

We show that high-skilled immigrants earn higher wages than comparable natives in exporting firms, while low-skilled immigrants do not. Using matched employer-employee and customs data from Portugal, we document a reversal of the migrant-native wage gap among high-skilled workers in exporting firms. We develop a model with heterogeneous firms and directed search, in which high-skilled immigrants lower export costs through destination-specific knowledge. The model yields an information premium that explains the wage gap reversal. We provide evidence consistent with this mechanism using information on the origin country of the workers and the destination country of the firm's exports. Our results identify a novel channel through which trade reduces wage inequality conditional on the skill level and origin country of the employees, and provide new micro-level evidence on the role of workers in shaping firm-level internationalisation.

Suggested Citation

  • Marchal, Léa & Ourens, Guzmán & Sabbadini, Giulia, 2025. "When immigrants meet exporters: A reassessment of the migrant-native wage gap," DICE Discussion Papers 420, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:dicedp:316450
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F22 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - International Migration
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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