Léa MARCHAL, Guzmán OURENS, Giulia SABBADINI
When Immigrants Meet Exporters: A Reassessment of the Immigrant Wage Gap ~ submitted
We use French employer-employee data to reassess the wage gap between native and foreign workers. We find that the wage gap varies with the export intensity of the firm and the occupation of the worker. A model with heterogeneous firms and workers shows that our findings are consistent with white-collar immigrants capturing an informational rent. The evidence supports this mechanism. First, we show that the wage gap is positively correlated with the complexity of the firm export activity. Second, we show that wages react to changes in export intensity when the export destination coincides with the origin of foreign workers.
CES Working Paper (2023)
Clément NEDONCELLE,Léa MARCHAL, Amandine AUBRY, Jérôme HÉRICOURT
(The names of the authors appear in a random order: AEA randomization code: ICZoMMYmfVnC)
Does Immigration Affect Native Wages? A Meta-Analysis ~ R&R
The impact of immigration on native workers’ wages has been a topic of long-standing debate. This meta-analysis reviews 42 studies published between 1987 to 2019, offering a comprehensive assessment of reduced-form estimates of the wage effect of immigration. The results confirm that immigration has a negligible effect on native wages. However, a more pronounced wage impact is observable for the U.S. and in recent years. Our analysis underscores the influence of methodological advances and increased data availability in shaping wage effect estimates. Results also highlight the role of the estimator (OLS vs. IV-2SLS, as well as the use of shift-share instruments) in determining the sign and magnitude of the estimated wage effect.
Working Paper (2024) ~ New version !
Jerg GUTMANN, Léa MARCHAL, Betül SIMSEK
Women’s Rights and the Gender Migration Gap ~ submitted
This is the first global study of how institutionally entrenched gender discrimination affects the gender migration gap (GMG) using data on 158 origin and 37 destination countries over the period 1961-2019. We estimate a gravity equation derived from a random utility maximization model of migration that accounts for migrants’ gender. Instrumental variable estimates indicate that increasing gender equality in economic or political rights generally deepens the GMG, i.e., it reduces female emigration relative to that of men. In line with our theoretical model, this average effect is driven by higher-income countries. In contrast, increased gender equality in rights reduces the GMG in lower-income countries by facilitating female emigration.
ILE Working Paper (2023) ~ Article on The Conversation FR (May 2023)
Léa MARCHAL, Claire NAIDITCH, Betül SIMSEK
From dollars to departures: Donor vs. non-donor effects of foreign aid on migration ~ submitted
This is the first global study that quantifies the transmission channels through which foreign aid impacts migration to donor countries. We estimate a gravity framework derived from a RUM model, using OECD data from 2011 to 2019, and an instrumentation strategy to infer causality. We distinguish between the donor- and non-donor-specific channels by including multilateral aid into the model. We find evidence that aid donated by a country increases migration to that country through a donor-specific information channel. If this channel were the only one at play, a 1% increase in bilateral aid per capita would induce a 0.55% increase in the migration rate to the donor country. We also find a non-donor-specific impact of aid on migration from the richer origin countries equal to 0.02%.
LEM Working Paper (2023)
Léa MARCHAL, Claire NAIDITCH, Martin VALDEZ, Adnan SERIC
Unleashing Potential: Foreign Workers and Direct Exports
This paper studies how skilled foreign workers affect firms’ export mode. We build a model with heterogeneous firms, incorporating trade intermediaries and foreign workers, and analyse how these workers affect firms’ choice to export directly, indirectly or not at all. We show that foreign workers help firms relax productivity constraints to export, both directly and indirectly. This pro-trade effect is larger for highly productive firms that export directly. Using the 2010 UNIDO Viet Nam Investor Survey, we find evidence of the pro-trade effect of skilled foreign workers and their asymmetric impact across firms of different sizes.
LEM Working Paper (2023) ~ New version coming soon.