MYTH THAT IMMIGRANTS “STEAL JOBS”: AN ECONOMIC BLAME GAME?

Year 2016, Volume: 8 Issue: 2, 165 - 179, 01.12.2016

F. Niyimbanira T. S. Madzivhandila

Abstract

The economic impact of migration has several dimensions. These include positive economic consequences for the host country, such as a possible effect on economic growth, an improvement in the labour market through job creation and on the prices consumers pay for goods and services. Many economists, journalists and politicians have been very verbal on whether immigrants have a positive or negative impact on a host country’s labour market and its economy as a whole. In addition, there exists a stream of literature which argues that, in terms of the labour market, citizens and immigrants will never be perfectly substitutable. The purpose of this article is to arguably dispel the myth that a high level of immigrants causes unemployment and it explores the impact of migration on the labour market in general. It argues that presuming a general equilibrium, immigrants do not only affect labour supply, but also labour demand. This is because immigrants do not only serve as additional workers available to the labour supply, but also as additional consumers, and consequently provide a boost for the local labour market by increasing demand for unskilled and semi-skilled labour. This paper concludes that immigrants do not only have a positive effect on labour markets but also contribute to the wellbeing of the host country’s citizens’ wage. Furthermore, policy implications are highlighted and suggestions for quantitative research on the topic are made

Keywords

Immigrants, labour market, wages, prices, unemployment

References

• Adepoju, A. (1998). International Migration and Africa. International Migration Review, 33(2), 468-483.
• Akokpari, J. K. (1999). The Political Economy of Migration in Sub Saharan
• Africa. African Sociological Review, 3(1), 75-93. Anderson, S. (2010). Let’s Not Blame Immigrants for High Unemployment Rates.
• Immigration Reform Bulletin. September. Berry, R. A. & Soligo, R. (1969). Some Welfare Aspects of International
• Migration. Journal of Political Economy, 77(5), 778-94. Bodvarsson, O. and Van den Berg, H. (2003). The Impact of Immigration on
• Local Economy. The Case of Dawson Country. Great Plains Research, 13, 291- Borjas, G. (2003). The Labour Demand Curve is Downward Sloping:
• Reexamining the Impact of Immigration on the Labour Market. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), 1335–1374.
• Card, D. (2001). Immigrant Inflows, Native Outflows and the Local Labour
• Market Impacts of Higher Immigration. Journal of Labour Economics, 19(1), 22- Card, D. (2005). Is the New Immigration Really So Bad? Economic Journal, (507), F300-F323.
• Card, D. (2009). Immigration and Inequality. American Economic Review, 99(2), –21.
• Castel-Branco, C. N. (2002). Economic Linkages between South Africa and Mozambique. At http:// www.sarpn.org/documents. August 2016.
• Castles, S. de Haas, H. & Miller, M. J. (2014). The Age of Migration:
• International Population Movements in the Modern World. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and London: MacMillan Pres ltd. Chamunorwa, W. & Mlambo, C. (2014). The Unemployment Impact of
• Immigration in South Africa. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(20), 2640.
• Chiranga, V. (2013). The effects of immigration in contemporary South Africa.
• Unpublished MTech Thesis. Chirwa, W, C. (1996). The Malawi Government and South African Labour
• Recruiters, 1974-92. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 34(4), 623-642.
• Chow, B. (2003). The challenges of immigration & integration in Australia and the European Union. National Europe Centre Paper No. 61.
• Crush, J., Mcdonald, D. & William, V. (2000). Losing Our Minds: Skills
• Migration and the South African Brain Drain. SAMP Migration Policy Series 18. D’Amuri, F., and Peri, G. (2014). Immigration, Jobs and Labour Market
• Institutions: Evidence from Europe. Journal of European Economic Association, (2), 432–464. Datta, P. (2004). Push and Pull Factors of Undocumented Migration from
• Bangladesh to West Bengal: A Perception Study. The Qualitative Report, 9(2), 358. De Haas, H. (2014). Migration Theory: Quo Vadis? Working Papers, Paper 100, November.
• Encina, C (2015). The NSW Spanish and Latin American Association for Social
• Assistance (NSW SLASA) Submission to: The Joint Standing Committee on Migration Inquiry into The Economic, Social and Cultural Impacts of Migration in Australia. Submission no 111. Greenstone, M. & Looney, A. (2010). Ten Economic Facts about Immigration.
• The Hamilton Project. September. Holtz-Eakin, D. (2005). The Role of Immigrants in U.S Labour Market.
• At http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/key_workplace. July 2016.
• Hussein, S. (1996). Strategic Perspectives in Illegal Immigration in South Africa.
• African Security Review, 5(4), 3-15. Kalitanyi, V. & Visser, K. (2010). African immigrants in South Africa: job takers or job creators? SAJEMS NS, 13(4), 376-390.
• Mabiala, S. J. S. (2013). Unemployment and immigration in South Africa. At africa-2013-05-24. September 2016.
• Mete, F. (2004). Does Immigration have an impact on economic development and unemployment? Empirical evidence from Finland (1981–2001). International
• Journal of Applied Econometrics and Quantitative Studies, 1-3, 39-60. Moreno-Galbis, E. & Tritah, A. (2014). Effects of immigration in frictional labour markets: theory and empirical evidence from EU countries. TEPP Working paper N° 2014 – 9.
• Mosala, S.M.G. (2008). The Work Experience of Zimbabwean Migrants in South
• Africa. Issues paper 33, International Labour Organization, Sub-Regional office for Southern Africa, Harare. Ottaviano, G., I. P & Peri, G. (2012). Rethinking the Effects of Immigration on
• Wages. Journal of the European Economic Association, 10(1), 152-197. Peri, G., & Sparber, C. (2011). Highly-Educated Immigrants and Native
• Occupational Choice. Industrial Relations, 50(3), 384-411. Sibanda, N. (2008). The Impact of Immigration on the Labour Market: Evidence from South Africa. Unpublished Maters Thesis.
• Singh, K. G. (2009). Push and Pull Factors of Migration: A Case Study of Brick
• Kiln Industry of Punjab State. Asian Pacific Journal of Social sciences, 1(1), 82- The Levin Institute (2011). Migration and Globalisation http://www.globalization101.org/uploads/File/Migration/migration2011.pdf. July
• Tian, G. G. & Shan, J. (1999). Do migrants rob jobs? New evidence from
• Australia. Australian Economic History Review: an Asia-Pacific journal of economic, business and social history, 39(2), 133-142. UNFPA, (2005).Meeting the Challenges of Migration. At http://www.un.org. July
• Vedder, E. R. & Gallaway, L. (1993). Out of Work: Unemployment and Government in the Twentieth Century. New York, New York University Press.