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Title: The Indirect Fiscal Benefits of Low-Skilled Immigration

Author(s): Mark Colas and Dominik Sachs

Publication Date: September 2020

Keyword(s): Fiscal Impact, General Equilibrium and Immigration

Programme Area(s): Public Economics

Abstract: Low-skilled immigrants indirectly affect public finances through their effect on native wages & labor supply. We operationalize this general-equilibrium effect in the workhorse labor market model with heterogeneous workers and intensive and extensive labor supply margins. We derive a closed-form expression for this effect in terms of estimable statistics. We extend the analysis to various alternative specifications of the labor market and production that have been emphasized in the immigration literature. Empirical quantifications for the U.S. reveal that the indirect fiscal benefit of one low-skilled immigrant lies between $770 and $2,100 annually. The indirect fiscal benefit may outweigh the negative direct fiscal effect that has previously been documented. This challenges the perception of low-skilled immigration as a fiscal burden.

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Bibliographic Reference

Colas, M and Sachs, D. 2020. 'The Indirect Fiscal Benefits of Low-Skilled Immigration'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=15325