A Long Commute
Article

A Long Commute

Immigrants Do More Good than Harm When They Enter a Country’s Job Market

Çağlar Özden
IMF, 2015
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Eye Opening
  • Overview

Recommendation

In the United States and many other countries, immigration is a hot topic. Despite media reports that highlight massive waves of migration around the world, the share of immigrants in the global population has remained steady at 3% since 1960, according to economist Çağlar Özden in this instructive, myth-busting report. The public perception of immigrants as job stealers who depress wages is also faulty. Özden’s evenhanded article presents the rarely discussed benefits of immigration to an economy. getAbstract recommends this text to executives and policy makers.

Summary

Despite globalization, labor markets remain fragmented, resulting in large global wage gaps. For instance, a nurse in Australia earns seven times more than a peer in the Philippines, and a doctor in the United States earns five times more than an equivalent in Egypt, when salaries are adjusted for purchasing power. In OECD states, migrants constitute 11% of the population, well above the 3% global average. Yet 40% migrate from within the OECD, while 26% come from Latin America, 24% from Asia and 10% from Africa. An even distribution of primary, secondary and tertiary educational attainment characterizes emigrants...

About the Author

Çağlar Özden is a lead economist at the World Bank’s Development Research Group.

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