Impact of immigration on wages, by education level, 1994–2007
| U.S. born | Immigrants | All | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | High | Typical | Low | High | Typical | Low | High | Typical | |
| Female | |||||||||
| Less than high school | 0.6% | 1.7% | 1.1% | -1.8% | -3.1% | -2.5% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| High school | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.1 | -1.0 | -3.9 | -2.6 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
| Some college | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | -2.5 | -4.8 | -3.6 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| College | -0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | -5.1 | -9.3 | -7.1 | -0.8 | -0.7 | -0.7 |
| All | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -3.2 | -6.3 | -4.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Male | |||||||||
| Less than high school | -1.5% | 0.5% | -0.2% | -4.3% | -5.1% | -4.4% | -2.3% | -1.0% | -1.4% |
| High school | -0.5 | -0.2 | -0.2 | -4.2 | -7.7 | -5.8 | -0.8 | -0.7 | -0.6 |
| Some college | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | -1.4 | -3.9 | -2.7 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| College | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | -2.8 | -6.2 | -4.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| All | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | -3.1 | -5.9 | -4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Note: The different sets ("low," "high," and "typical") reflect the fact that for each relevant elasticity (the effect on wages from an increase in immigration), there is a range of estimates in the labor literature. The column “low” assumes that the substitutability of workers in different education categories is at the low end of the range, and that the substitutability of natives and immigrants within the same education/experience class is at the high end of the range, both of which will give the gloomiest outlook for the effect of immigration on the wages of natives with low levels of schooling. Conversely, the column “high” assumes that the substitutability of workers in different education categories is at the high end of the range, and that the substitutability of natives and immigrants within the same education/experience class is at the low end of the range, both of which will give the rosiest outlook for the effect of immigration on the wages of natives with low levels of schooling. The column “typical” assumes a typical set of elasticities, neither at the high end or low end of their respective ranges, and these columns represent the estimates we believe to be the most accurate.
Source: Adapted from Table 4 in Heidi Shierholz, Immigration and Wages: Methodological Advancements Confirm Modest Gains for Native Workers, Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper #255, February 4, 2010
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