Migration and regional productivity: Evidence from individual wages in Australia

Abstract

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Migration and regional innovation in Australia

“…In 2021, Australia had the thirdhighest share of migrants (29%) among OECD countries, after Luxembourg (49%) and Switzerland (30%). This share is substantially higher than the migrant share in Canada (21%), Germany (16%), the UK (14%), and the US (14%) (OECD, 2023 [22]). Moreover, the share of migrants in Australia increased by six percentage points from 23% in 2000.…”

“…First, density, defined as the number of workers over the regional built-up area, can play a role in innovation as proximity among innovators can facilitate collaboration and foster innovation. 22 Secondly, income levels, measured using average regional labour income, may influence the degree of innovation in different regions, as places with higher income levels may disproportionately attract migrants who are better innovators. Lastly, regions already highly innovative may have innovation hubs that potentially use the migrants' skills more efficiently and, hence, generate larger effects.…”

“…The study finds similar estimates whether they look at 10-year or 50-year windows, which suggests that the estimated effects are stable across time. This makes it possible to compare these magnitudes estimated for the US with those estimated in this study for Australia 22. Retrieved from the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL): Global Human Settlement -GHSL Homepage -European Commission (europa.eu).…”

The impact of migration on regional labour markets in Australia

“…In 2021, Australia had the thirdhighest share of migrants (29%) among OECD countries, after Luxembourg (49%) and Switzerland (30%). This share is substantially higher than the migrant share in Canada (21%), Germany (16%), the UK (14%), and the United States (14%) (OECD, 2023 [27]). Moreover, the share of migrants in Australia increased by six percentage points from 23% in 2000.…”