The Analytics of the Wage Effect of Immigration

54 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2009 Last revised: 7 Dec 2022

See all articles by George J. Borjas

George J. Borjas

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: March 2009

Abstract

The theory of factor demand has important implications for the study of the impact of immigration on wages. This paper derives the theoretical implications in the context of a general equilibrium model where the wage impact depends on the elasticity of product demand, the rate at which the consumer base expands as immigrants enter the receiving country, the elasticity of supply of capital, and the elasticity of substitution among inputs of production. The constraints imposed by the theory can be used to check the plausibility of the many contradictory claims that appear throughout the immigration literature.

Suggested Citation

Borjas, George J., The Analytics of the Wage Effect of Immigration (March 2009). NBER Working Paper No. w14796, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1366196

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