Citation:
Dustmann, C., Schönberg, U.,Stuhler, J. (2017). Labor supply shocks, native wages, and the adjustment of local employment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, v. 132, n. 1, pp. 435–483.
ISSN:
0033-5533
DOI:
10.1093/qje/qjw032
Sponsor:
Christian Dustmann acknowledges funding through the ERC Advanced
Grant 323992-DMEA and by the DFG (DU1024/1-1). Jan Stuhler acknowledges
funding from the German National Academic Foundation, the Spanish Ministry of
Economy and Competitiveness (MDM2014-0431 and ECO2014-55858-P), and the
Comunidad de Madrid (MadEco-CM S2015/HUM-3444).
Project:
Gobierno de España. ECO2014-55858-P Gobierno de España. MDM 2014-0431 Comunidad de Madrid. S2015/HUM-3444/MADECO-CM
By exploiting a commuting policy that led to a sharp and unexpected inflow of Czech workers to areas along the German-Czech border, we examine the impact of an exogenous immigration-induced labor supply shock on local wages and employment of natives. On averagBy exploiting a commuting policy that led to a sharp and unexpected inflow of Czech workers to areas along the German-Czech border, we examine the impact of an exogenous immigration-induced labor supply shock on local wages and employment of natives. On average, the supply shock leads to a moderate decline in local native wages and a sharp decline in local native employment. These average effects mask considerable heterogeneity across groups: while younger natives experience larger wage effects, employment responses are particularly pronounced for older natives. This pattern is inconsistent with standard models of immigration but can be accounted for by a model that allows for a larger labor supply elasticity or a higher degree of wage rigidity for older than for young workers. We further show that the employment response is almost entirely driven by diminished inflows of natives into work rather than outflows into other areas or nonemployment, suggesting that "outsiders" shield "insiders" from the increased competition.[+][-]