Migration and labor market outcomes: a female perspective : A study on the impacts of the presence of female immigrants on native female employment rates through the skill channel.

Abstract: Human migration is a phenomenon which has historically generated different responses and concerns among the inhabitants of host territories. Part of said concerns are related to the idea which holds immigrants accountable of decreases in the employment of natives. The purpose of this study is to find the impacts of differently skilled migrants on the employment of native workers of low, mid and high skill levels with a focus on females. The main analysis is complemented with a robustness test where the focus is shifted to men. In order to conduct the study, an analysis on a sample of 22 countries throughout 17 years (2004 to 2020) has been made. Data on employment rates of native females and males and the share of female and male migrants has been used for this study. The findings show that the impact of immigration on the employment rate of native population depends on the characteristics of the individuals and countries that compose the sample of study. GDP, public expenditure and education expenditure are proven to play an important role in the determination of the employment rate of natives. These results will be of use for future studies of the impacts of migration on the labor market of host countries and governmental policies regarding migration. In this sense, both future researchers and policy makers may use this study as a guide of action, where greater focus should be put on certain issues that both migrants and natives encounter in labor markets, such as skill mismatch or overskilling.