Immigration and employment dynamics in European regions
This paper provides novel evidence on the regional impact of immigration on native
employment in a cross-country framework based on rich European Labour Force Surveys
and past censuses data for 2010-2019. The paper finds a modest average impact of
the rise in the share of immigrants across European regions on the employment-to-population
rate of natives, but highly uneven effects over time and across workers and regions.
The short-run estimates show adverse employment effects in response to immigration
that nevertheless disappear in the longer run. High-school or less educated native
workers experience employment losses due to immigration, whereas higher educated workers
are more likely to experience employment gains. Moreover, the presence of institutions
providing strict employment protection and high coverage of collective wage agreements
exert a protective effect on native employment. Finally, the paper finds that regions
experiencing strong growth can absorb immigrant workers, resulting in little or no
effect on the native workforce, including in the short-run.
Available from September 11, 2023
In series:OECD Regional Development Papersview more titles