The Effect of Immigration on Job Creation, Business Survival, and Firm Mobility: Evidence From NETS Data

Madeline Zavodny , University of North Florida
Pia Orrenius, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

A voluminous literature using data from household surveys concludes that immigration has a negligible effect on the U.S. labor market overall but appears to harm workers who are most substitutable for new immigrants. Why immigration has little overall effect is unclear. One possibility that has received little attention is that immigration may spur job creation and business expansion, particularly in areas that receive large immigrant inflows. This study examines that question by combining data on immigrant inflows from the American Community Survey with data on job creation and destruction, business formation and survival, and business location choices and mobility from the National Establishment Time-Series (NETS) database. The NETS database, which is proprietary, has never been used to examine the impact of immigration. It offers a wealth of information about labor markets, firms, and industries, allowing us to examine how immigration into an area affects a number of previously unexamined variables.

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 Presented in Session 103. Innovative Approaches, Data, and Analytical Strategies in the Study of Migration