Migration flows in commodity cycles: Assessing the role of migration policies

Alan Duncan, Mark Norman Harris, Astghik Mavisakalyan, Toan Nguyen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    This paper sheds light on the role of immigration policies in shaping immigration flows in responses to labor market changes. Using data from Australia during the 2001 to 2015 commodity cycle as a quasi-experiment, we find that employer-sponsored (demand-driven) immigration varied in line with commodity prices, with commodity-intensive states witnessing stronger growth rates than remaining states over the resources boom period. There is no evidence of any such patterns for points-based (supply-driven) immigrants. Moreover, we do not find either employer-sponsored or point-based migration flows increase in non-tradable sector in relative to tradable sector in the triple-differences analysis with state-industry level data. These findings emphasize the importance of employer-sponsored immigration in alleviating short-term local labor shortages.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalEuropean Economic Review
    Volume127
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2020

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Migration flows in commodity cycles: Assessing the role of migration policies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this