Last but not least, the question arises whether the estimates for occupations might be biased by induced migration and endogeneity of the occupational choice of immigrants. The first term refers to a situation in which natives change their occupation as a response to immigration which would disperse the wage effect across occupations. However, this should not be a problem in the short run since the occupational choice of an individual is in general more restricted than a location decision (Friedberg 2001). While an employee easily can change his location and work within his profession, it might be more difficult to change his occupation since this is in most cases related to vocational training.
Concerning potential endogeneity bias the picture is more mixed: On the one hand, it is reasonable to assume that the occupational choice of immigrants will be influenced by wages.
If immigrants choose occupations with higher wages the immigration impact will be underestimated. On the other hand indicate recent studies that immigrants in the short run are not able to choose their occupation freely, and are channelled into occupations of significantly lower status than natives ((Friedberg 2001, Constant and Massey 2005). In this case the impact of immigration on native wages might be overestimated. For this reason the size and the direction of the endogeneity bias is not as straightforward as within the geographic framework. However, we decided to use an Instrumental Variable Approach (IV) to correct for possible endogeneity.26
26 Although our adjustment coefficient measures changes in foreign employment on wage growth within
occupation-experience cells over time our results can suffer from endogeneity if occupational choice depends not only on wages, but also on wage growth.
Since we had no information on the immigrant’s previous occupational distribution like Friedberg (2001) we decided to rely on lags of the immigration share within occupational groups. The underlying idea is that new immigrants are likely to work in occupations which are already characterized by a high share of foreign employees due to ethnic networks.
Empirical evidence for the US reveals that new arriving immigrants are likely to locate in the same occupations like their ethnic relatives already residing in the country (Patel and Vella 2007). The previous occupational distribution of immigrants however should be uncorrelated with actual economic conditions. A similar approach is used by Dustmann et al. (2005) who use measures of historic settlement patterns as instruments for spatial immigrant inflows.
Table 9 provides the results of a difference-in difference estimation and GMM-IV approach using the lagged immigrants share as an instrument.27
Table 9: Difference-in-Difference and GMM-IV
Diff-in-Diff, independent variable mit -0.118** (0.057) GMM-IV Estimation 1st stage, independent variable mit-1 0.265*** 0.035 GMM-IV Estimation 2nd stage, mit instrumented with mit-1 -0.251** (0.112)
Endogeneity Test Chi-sq(1) = 3.028 P-val = 0.082 Value of F Statistic (for instrument) F(1,1374) = 55.50 Prob>F = 0.000
Anderson canon. corr. LR statistic Chi-sq(1) =135.63 P-val = 0.000
Standard errors in parentheses robust to autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity
*** significant at 1% level, **significant at 5% level rounded to 3 decimal place
own calculations with data of the IABS 1975-2001
The first-stage results reported in the second line suggest that the selected instrument is not weak. This is confirmed by the value of the F-statistic and the Anderson LR test statistic. The endogeneity test has been performed under the null hypothesis that the foreigner share within an occupation-experience cell can actually be treated as exogenous. This can be rejected at the 10% level. The results of the second stage imply that a 10% increase in the workforce within an occupational group through immigration reduces native wages by 2.65%. The contrast to the results of the OLS Difference-in-Difference estimation indicates that endogeneity might play a role for the analysis in the way that immigrants tend to choose occupations with favourable economic conditions. The Instrumental Variable Approach therefore strengthens
27 We apply the GMM estimation method since we have already shown that heteroscedasticity is commonly present (see A5). The estimations were conducted by using the Statatm module xtivreg2 developed by Schaffer (2005).
the result that immigration has a significant impact on wages and indicates that the OLS results might be interpreted as a lower bound of the real impact.
7 Conclusions
The empirical analysis on the level of skill groups has shown that immigration has only a small negative effect on the wages and the employment of the native workforce in Germany.
An inflow of immigrants increasing the number of employees in education-experience cell by 10 percent reduces native wages by 0.48%. The wages of employees with low education are disproportionately highly affected by the inflow of foreign workers. This result is not surprising when considering the fact that immigration to Germany was mainly influenced by an inflow of unskilled guest workers. Furthermore, it is reasonable that the substitutability of foreign and native employees decreases with the level of qualification. However, even the impact for low skilled natives is comparatively low. This may be caused by the fact that foreigners and immigrants with equal qualifications are likely to work in different occupational segments.
For this reason the analysis was extended to the level of occupations. The results now indicate that 10% supply increase through immigration reduces native wages by 1.59% within an occupational group. In addition to this, the analysis highlights that especially employees with basic service occupations were negatively affected by immigration. Within these occupational groups a 10 percent increase in the workforce through immigration causes a reduction in native wages by 3.94%. This confirms that natives and foreigners in the labour market segment for basic services like cleaning or retail trade are characterized by a high elasticity of substitution.
The results on the occupational level have demonstrated that the use of formal qualifications as an exclusive classification criterion may lead to an underestimation of the impact of immigration. This especially holds true for the German labour market which is characterized by a high relevance of formal qualifications and a number of institutional regulations concerning the employment of foreigners. In addition to this, the reliability of the education variable for immigrants in most German data sets is relative low. The high impact for employees with primary occupations emphasises the necessity for future studies to model the institutional and socioeconomic differences between immigrants and natives beyond formal education.
Literature
Altonji, J.G., D. Card (1991), The Effects of Immigration on the Labor Market Outcomes of Less-Skilled Natives. Pp. 201-234 in: Abowd, J., R.B. Freeman (eds.), Immigration, Trade and Labor. Chicago.
Aydemir, A., G. Borjas (2007), Cross-country variation in the impact of international migration: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Journal of the European Economic Association, Vol.5: 663–708.
Bauer, T. (1998), Arbeitsmarkteffekte der Migration und Einwanderungspolitik: eine Analyse für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Heidelberg.
Bender, S., A. Haas (2002), Die IAB-Beschäftigtenstichprobe, Pp. 3-12 in: Kleinhenz, Gerhard (ed.): IAB-Komependium Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung. BeitrAB 250, Nuremberg.
Bonin, H. (2005), Wage and Employment Effects of Immigration to Germany: Evidence from a skill group Approach, IZA Discussion Paper No.1875.
Borjas, G.J., Freeman, R.B., L.F. Katz (1992), On the labour market impacts of
immigration and trade. Pp. 213–244 in: Borjas, G. J., Freeman, B. Richard (eds.), Immigration and the Work Force: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas.
Chicago.
Borjas, G.J. (1994), The Economics of Immigration. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol.32:
1667-1717.
Borjas, G.J. (2003), The Labour Demand Curve is Downward Sloping: Re-examining the Impact of Immigration on the Labour Market. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol.118:
1335–1374.
Borjas, G.J. (2008), Labor Outflows and Labor Inflows in Puerto Rico. Journal of Human Capital, 2008, Vol. 2:32-68.
Borjas, G.J. (2009), The Analytics of the Wage Effect of Immigration, NBER Working Paper No. w14796.
Brücker, H., E. Jahn (2008), Migration and the Wage Curve: A Structural Approach to Measure the Wage and Employment Effects of Migration. IZA Discussion Paper No. 3423.
Card, D. (1991), The Impact of the Mariel Boatlift on the Miami Labor Market, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 43: 245-257.
Card, D. (2001), Immigrant inflows, native outflows, and the local labor market impacts of higher immigration. Journal of Labor Economics, Vol.19: 22–64.
Constant, A. F., D. S. Massey (2005), Labor Market Segmentation and the Earnings of German Guestworkers. Population Research and Policy Review, Vol 24:5-30.
D`Amuri, F., Ottaviano, G., G. Peri (2008), The Labour Market Impact of Immigration in Western Germany in the 1990's. HWWI Research Paper No. 3-12.
DeNew, J.P., K.F. Zimmermann (1994), Native Wage Impacts of Foreign Labour: a Random Effects Panel Analysis. Journal of Population Economics, Vol. 7:177-192.
Dustmann, C., Fabbri, F., I. Preston (2005), The impact of immigration on the British labour market, The Economic Journal, Vol. 115: 324–F341.
Englmann, B., M. Müller (2007), Brain Waste. Die Anerkennung von ausländischen Qualifikationen in Deutschland, Augsburg.
Federal Statistical Office Germany (2008), Bevölkerung mit Migrationshintergrund - Ergebnisse des Mikrozensus 2006 - Fachserie 1 Reihe 2.2, Wiesbaden.
Fitzenberger, B., Schnabel, R., G. Wunderlich (2004), The gender gap in labor market participation and employment: A cohort analysis for West Germany. Journal of Population Economics, Vol. 17: 83-116.
Gartner, H. (2005), The Imputation of Wages above the Contribution Limit with the German IAB Employment Sample. FDZ Methodenreport Nr.2/2005.
Greenwood, M.J., J.M. McDowell (1986), The Factor Market Consequences of U.S.
Immigration. Journal of Economic Literature, Vol.24: 1738-1772.
Grossman, J.B. (1982), The Substitutability of Natives and Immigrants in Production.
Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 64: 596–603.
IAB (2008), Berufe im Spiegel der Statistik. Can be downloaded at:
http://www.pallas.iab.de/bisds/berufe.htm (webpage dated 10.04.2008, last retrieved 03.04.2009).
Mincer, J. (1974), Schooling, Experience, and Earnings. New York.
Okkerse, L. (2008), How to measure labour market effects of migration: a review. Journal of Economic Surveys, Vol. 22: 1–30.
Orrenius P.M., M. Zavodny (2007), Does immigration affect wages? A look at occupation-level evidence. Labour Economics, Vol. 14: 757–773.
Ottaviano, G.I.P., G. Peri (2006), Rethinking the Gains from Immigration: Theory and Evidence from the U.S. FEEM Working Paper No. 52.06.
Patel, K., F. Vella (2007): Immigrant Networks and Their Implications for Occupational Choice and Wages, IZA Discussion Paper 3217.
Petersen, M.A. (2009), Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches, Review of Financial Studies, Vol.22:435-480.
Peri, G., C. Sparber (2009): Task Specialization, Immigration and Wages. Forthcoming in American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.
Pischke, J.-S., J. Velling (1997), Employment Effects of Immigration to Germany: An Analysis Based on Local Labor Markets, in: Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol.79:
594-604.
Reinberg, A., M. Hummel (1999), Bildung und Beschäftigung im vereinigten Deutschland, Beiträge zur Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, BeitrAB 226. Nuremberg.
Schaffer, M. E. (2005), XTIVREG2: Stata module to perform extended IV/2SLS, GMM and AC/HAC, LIML and k-class regression for panel data models, Statistical Software
Components S456501, Boston College Department of Economics, revised 16 Oct 2008.
Steinhardt, M.F. (2008), Does citizenship matter? The economic impact of naturalizations in Germany, HWWI Research Paper 3-13.
Velling, J. (1995), Immigration und Arbeitsmarkt: eine empirische Analyse für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Baden-Baden.
Wooldridge, J.M. (2002), Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, Cambridge/Massachusetts.
Wooldridge, J.M. (2006), Introductory Econometrics, A modern approach, Ohio et al.
Appendix
A1: Occupational distribution of natives and immigrants with primary education (in %) Years of
A2: Test statistics panel analysis/ skill groups
Breusch-Pagan LM test chi2(1) = 23.49 Prob > chi2 = 0.0000 Hausman test chi2(1) = 118,41 Prob>chi2 = 0.0000 Joint Significance test F( 71, 1429) = 229.30 Prob > F = 0.0000 A3: test autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity / skill groups
Wooldridge test F(1,71) = 21.049 Prob > F = 0.0000 Breusch-Pagan/Cook-Weisberg test chi2(1) = 734.98 Prob > chi2 = 0.0000
A 4: Test statistics panel analysis/ occupational groups
Breusch-Pagan LM test chi2(1) = 18.69 Prob > chi2 = 0,0000 Hausman test chi2(1) = 75.72 Prob>chi2 = 0.0000 Joint Significance test F(34, 571) = 197.13 Prob > F = 0.0000 A5: test autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity / occupational groups
Wooldridge test F(1, 35) = 217.035 Prob > F = 0.0000 Breusch-Pagan/Cook-Weisberg test chi2(1) = 44.91 Prob > chi2 =0.0000
HWWI Research Papers
by the HWWI Research Programmes
“Economic Trends” and “Hamburg and Regional Development”
22. Der Faktor Zufall im Fußball. Eine empirische Untersuchung für die Saison 2007/08
Jörn Quitzau, Henning Vöpel, Hamburg, März 2009
21. Should I Stay or Should I Go? Regional Mobility and Social Capital Michael Bräuninger, Andreia Tolciu, Hamburg, February 2009 20. Creative Cities and the Concept of Diversity
Jan Wedemeier, Hamburg, January 2009
19. Lohneinbußen durch geburtsbedingte Erwerbsunterbrechungen − fertilitäts- theoretische Einordnung, Quantifizierung auf Basis von SOEP-Daten und fa- milienpolitische Implikationen
Christina Boll, Hamburg, Januar 2009 18. Do Institutions Affect Sustainability?
Jana Stöver, Hamburg, January 2009
17. What Drives Innovation? Causes of and Consequences for Nanotechnologies Ingrid Ott, Christian Papilloud, Torben Zülsdorf, Hamburg, October 2008 16. EU Enlargement and Convergence – Does Market Access Matter?
Annekatrin Niebuhr, Friso Schlitte, Hamburg, June 2008
15. Is Unemployment a Consequence of Social Interactions? Seeking for a Common Research Framework for Economists and other Social Scientists
Andreia Tolciu, Hamburg, April 2008
14. Reform der schwedischen Arbeitsmarkt- und Tarifpolitik Ulrich Zierahn, Hamburg, April 2008
13. Beschäftigungseffekte durch den Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energien in Norddeutschland
Norbert Kriedel, Hamburg, März 2008
12. Inequality of Learning Amongst Immigrant Children in Industrialised Countries
Sylke Viola Schnepf, Hamburg, February 2008
11. Regional Income Inequality and Convergence Processes in the EU-25 Tiiu Paas, Friso Schlitte, Hamburg, October 2007
10. Governmental activity, integration, and agglomeration Ingrid Ott, Susanne Soretz, Hamburg, July 2007
9. Wie innovationsfähig ist Deutschland? – Ein Gesamindikator zur Messung der Innovationsfähigkeit
Henning Vöpel, Hamburg, Juli 2007
8. CDM potential of wind power projects in India Pallav Purohit, Axel Michaelowa
Hamburg, June 2007
7. Ein makroökonometrisches Modell für Hamburg Norbert Kriedel, Hamburg, Mai 2007
6. Managementstrategien im Fußball: „Big Push“ oder Kontinuität?
Ein dynamisches Modell zum sportlichen Auf- und Abstieg von Vereinen Henning Vöpel, Hamburg, Februar 2007
5. Ein Transfermarktmodell und Implikationen für die strategische Transferpolitik der Vereine in der Fußball-Bundesliga
Henning Vöpel, Hamburg, November 2006
4. Gender Equality in the Labour Market: Attitudes to Women’s Work Sylke Viola Schnepf, Hamburg, Oktober 2006
3. Ein „ZIDANE-Clustering-Theorem“ und Implikationen für den Finanzausgleich in der Bundesliga
Henning Vöpel, Hamburg, Juli 2006
2. Doping im Radsport als kollektives Gleichgewicht Henning Vöpel, Hamburg, Juli 2006
1. Long Waves of Economic Development and the Diffusion of General-Purpose Technologies – The Case of Railway Networks
Norbert Kriedel, Hamburg, Januar 2006
The Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) is an independent economic research institute, based on a non-profit public-private partnership, which was founded in 2005. The University of Hamburg and the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce are shareholders in the Institute .
The HWWI’s main goals are to:
• Promote economic sciences in research and teaching;
• Conduct high-quality economic research;
• Transfer and disseminate economic knowledge to policy makers, stakeholders and the general public.
The HWWI carries out interdisciplinary research activities in the context of the following research programmes: Economic Trends, Hamburg and Regional Development, World Economy and the Migration Research Group.
Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) Heimhuder Str. 71 | 20148 Hamburg | Germany
Phone +49 (0)40 34 05 76 - 0 | Fax +49 (0)40 34 05 76 - 776 [email protected] | www.hwwi.org