The Impact of Immigration on the Earnings of Natives: Evidence from Australian Micro Data

Abstract

The present paper provides a new approach to investigate the impact of recent immigrants on the real wages of native Australians. The method involves cross-section analysis of 48 labour markets using data from six consecutive Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) income distribution surveys for the years 1982 through 1996. Recent immigrants are not found to significantly affect the real wages of native Australians. This conclusion remains unchanged when the specific impact of immigration on less educated or young Australian workers is investigated.