@techreport{NBERw7561,
 title = "The Effect of Immigration on Native Self-Employment",
 author = "Robert W. Fairlie and Bruce D. Meyer",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "7561",
 year = "2000",
 month = "February",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w7561",
 abstract = {A rapidly growing literature examines the impact of immigrants on the labor market outcomes of native-born Americans.  However, the impact of immigration on natives in self-employment has not been examined, despite the over-representation of immigrants in that sector.   We first present a new general equilibrium model of self-employment and wage/salary work.  For a range of plausible parameter values, the model predicts small negative effects of immigration on native self-employment rates and earnings.  Using 1980 and 1990 Census microdata, we then examine the relationship between changes in immigration and native self-employment rates and earnings across 132 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States.  We find evidence supporting the hypothesis that self-employed immigrants displace self-employed natives.  The effects are much larger than those predicted by simulations of the theoretical model.  Immigrants, however, do not have a negative effect on native self-employment earnings.  Our findings are similar if we weight immigration rates by the propensity of immigrant groups to be self-employed or if we try alternative estimation techniques and specifications.},
}