Distributional effects of immigration and imperfect labour markets
利用英国数据和欧盟扩张等工具变量，发现移民提高了劳动生产率但降低了劳动份额，支持不完善劳动力市场模型的预测，即移民将收入从工人重新分配给雇主。
In canonical models, the labour share is orthogonal to immigration shocks in the long run, regardless of the impact of immigration on productivity. In contrast, this paper provides evidence that immigration increases labour productivity while reducing the labour share. We produce this evidence using data from Great Britain with a shift-share instrument that exploits European Union expansions and changes in immigration to other high-income countries. Our results are consistent with the predictions from imperfect labour market models, where immigrant and native workers are heterogeneous in skills, and the former have lower labour supply elasticities than the latter. A significant implication of our analysis is that immigration redistributes income from workers to employers. • This paper examines the effect of immigration on labour productivity and the labour share. • Using data from GB we find that immigration increases labour productivity while reducing the labour share. • These findings are difficult to explain with a canonical model of immigration, but are consistent with the predictions from imperfect labour market models. • A significant implication of our analysis is that immigration redistributes income from workers to employers.