Immigration Effects On The Economy Essay

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In these last years, immigration and its effects on the society, the economy and the individuals have been discussed in every possible way. On the one hand, immigration is seen as an economic and cultural resource that can for example supply industries with new skilled workers or give new impetus to the artistic and intellectual life of the nation. But on the other hand, there are a lot of concerns that immigrants may take jobs away from the local workers, weigh on the already strained State coffers through the need for social services and economic aids, undermine traditional culture and lead to crime and other social ills.

“Immigrants steal our jobs and have a negative impact on the economy”

Some of the most recent and prominent studies …show more content…

These earnings gaps can be explained by lower education levels among immigrants for example.

Regarding the effects of immigration on labor outcomes
Immigration affects the wages of the host country in several ways. First of all, it increases the labor force of the receiving country and, this growth in labor supply, have a negative impact on the average wages if there aren’t factors of production that can adjust this change.
Secondly, as immigrants could substitute native workers in their jobs, they are also expected to lower the wages accepting lower conditions and salaries.
Generally, immigrants tend to concentrate in certain regions, often the major cities.
Nevertheless, there are evidences that prove that immigration have little impact on native wages. For instance, Friedberg and Hunt in their research “The impact of immigrants on host country wages, employment and growth”, published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives (1995), found that a 10% increase in the immigrant share of the labor force reduced native wages by about 1%. Other more recent studies tested comparable small effects also