The Abolition of Immigration Restrictions and the Performance of Firms and Workers: Evidence from Switzerland
We study a reform that granted European cross-border workers free access to the Swiss labor market and had a stronger effect on regions close to the border. The greater availability of cross-border workers increased foreign employment substantially. Although many cross-border workers were highly educated, wages of highly educated natives increased. The reason is a simultaneous increase in labor demand: the reform increased the size, productivity, and innovation performance of skill-intensive incumbent firms and attracted new firms, creating opportunities for natives to pursue managerial jobs. These effects are mainly driven by firms that reported skill shortages before the reform.
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Copy CitationAndreas Beerli, Jan Ruffner, Michael Siegenthaler, and Giovanni Peri, "The Abolition of Immigration Restrictions and the Performance of Firms and Workers: Evidence from Switzerland," NBER Working Paper 25302 (2018), https://doi.org/10.3386/w25302.
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Published Versions
Andreas Beerli & Jan Ruffner & Michael Siegenthaler & Giovanni Peri, 2021. "The Abolition of Immigration Restrictions and the Performance of Firms and Workers: Evidence from Switzerland," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(3), pages 976-1012, March. citation courtesy of 
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