Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/226306 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 8604
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
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.
Subjects: 
immigration
fiscal impact
general equilibrium
JEL: 
H20
J31
J62
J68
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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