The Contribution of Immigration to Local Labor Market Adjustment

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Amior, Michael
• 署名单位: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/730163
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: UNITED-STATES; location choices; decline; migration; COMPETITION; impacts; college; wages

摘要

The United States faces persistent spatial disparities in joblessness, which should theoretically be eliminated by population reallocation. Can immigration accelerate this adjustment process? I estimate that new immigrants account for 40% of local population adjustment since 1960. This vastly exceeds their share of gross migratory flows (just 10%). I attribute their excess response to the pull of migrant enclaves, which are disproportionately located in high-employment areas (a consequence of persistent shocks). However, immigration does not significantly accelerate population adjustment overall, as it crowds out the contribution from internal mobility. This crowd-out can help explain the contemporary decline in gross internal flows.