Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name:  David C Maré
Author-X-Name-First: David
Author-X-Name-Last: Maré
Author-Email:  dave.mare@motu.org.nz
Author-Workplace-Name: Motu Economic and Public Policy Research 
Author-Name:  Steven Stillman
Author-X-Name-First: Steven 
Author-X-Name-Last: Stillman
Author-Email: steve.stillman@motu.org.nz
Author-Workplace-Name: Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
Title: The Impact of Immigration on the Labour Market Outcomes of New Zealanders
Abstract:  This paper uses data from the 1996, 2001 and 2006 New Zealand Census to examine how the supply of immigrants in particular skill-groups affects the employment and wages of the New Zealand-born and of earlier migrants. We first estimate simple CES production functions that allow for substitutability between workers from different skill-groups, but assume that, within skill-groups, migrants are perfect substitutes for non-migrants. We next estimate hierarchical CES production functions that allow for substitutability between immigrant and non-immigrant workers within skillgroups, but constrain the patterns of wage impacts on different factors in response to changing factor shares, and that natives and migrants are not substitutable across skill-groups. Then, we extend the previous literature by estimating a Generalised Leontief production function that allows for a less restrictive relationship between changes in factors shares and changes in wages within a particular level of the production function and for substitution and complementarity between immigrant and nonimmigrant workers both between and across skill-groups. Regardless of the model being estimated, we find little evidence that immigrants negatively affect either the wages or employment opportunities of the average New Zealand-born worker. However, we find some evidence that increases in the number of high-skilled recent migrants have small negative impacts on the wages of high-skilled New Zealand-born workers, which are offset by small positive impacts on the wages of medium-skilled New Zealanders.
Length:  57 pages
Creation-Date:  2009
File-URL: https://motu-www.motu.org.nz/wpapers/09_11.pdf
Number: 09_11
Classification-JEL: J61, R23
Keywords: Immigration, Wage Impacts, New Zealand, Labour Market Areas
Handle: RePEc:mtu:wpaper:09_11