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THE EFFECT OF SELECTIVE INS MONITORING STRATEGIES ON THE INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT CHOICE AND EARNINGS OF RECENT IMMIGRANTS
Author(s) -
DÁVILA ALBERTO,
PAGAN JOSE A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/j.1465-7295.1997.tb01900.x
Subject(s) - earnings , immigration , enforcement , manufacturing sector , economics , labour economics , archaeology , political science , law , history , accounting
One effect of 1986's immigration reform was to make INS inspection of firms more costly relative to other industries. In response, we suggest, the INS refocused its enforcement efforts toward industries with a higher concentration of illegals per establishment, especially manufacturing. We test this hypotheses and model the effects of a selective monitoring strategy on the employment choice and wages of illegal workers. We find evidence of selective monitoring by the INS and that this policy has redistributed illegal workers from closely to weakly monitored industries. Specifically, we find a shift from the higher‐paying manufacturing sector to the agricultural.