Research

Papers Under Review

“Do Immigrants Gain or Lose? A Cross-Cohort Analysis of Occupational Licensing,” under review at IZA Journal of Labor Economics. (Job Market Paper)

Abstract: This study examines the likelihood of immigrants in different cohorts getting occupational licenses and the impacts of licensing on the labor market. It does this by using two sources of data: The Current Population Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation. We found that immigrants, especially new and high-skilled immigrants, are less likely to get licenses. Middle-skilled immigrants are most likely to be licensed among all immigrants. However, the longer immigrants stay in the U.S. after migration, the higher the possibility of getting a license. Recent immigrants receive the lowest licensing wage premium among all cohorts, and somehow licensing surprisingly extends rather than close this wage gap in the young cohort. We find that immigrants from English-speaking areas enjoy lower licensing wage premiums, and these able to be licensed do relatively worse in the labor market than native workers. In contrast, immigrants from Africa and Latin America seem to do better after acquiring a license than native workers. Among all cohorts, licensing narrows the wage gap between recent middle-skilled immigrants while extending the gap between recent high-skilled and low-skilled immigrants and natives. In conclusion, middle-skilled immigrants seem to benefit more from licensing among all immigrants, specifically among the recent cohort. Finally, acquiring certain licenses, such as cosmetology, is not a successful labor investment for immigrants.

“Labor Market Impacts of State-Level Professional Licensing of Undocumented Immigrants,” under review at the Journal of Labor Research.

Abstract: Since 2015, several states have enacted policies granting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients’ access to occupational or professional licenses. We tested the state variation in issuing occupational or professional licenses to DACA recipients to estimate their impacts on labor market outcomes. Using 2012 through 2020 data from the Current Population Survey, we show that open occupational licensing for DACA recipients significantly raises wages by 12.5 percent. This wage premium is more extensive for female than male recipients. The higher wages and more working hours from granting access to an occupational license are more significant for recipients over 25 who have finished formal education and begun careers. Together these findings suggest that access to licenses may help dreamers to perform better in the labor market. Thus, access to public benefits, including licensing, yields meaningful benefits for DACA recipients in states that expanded access to occupational licensing.

Working Papers

The Effects of Professional Licensing for DACA Recipients: A Synthetic Control Approach.

Abstract: Since 2014, 17 states have allowed DACA recipients to acquire occupational or professional licenses. This policy change benefits DACA recipients, eases the labor shortage, and boosts the economy. This paper evaluates the impacts of this policy change on labor market outcomes of DACA recipients, using the generalized synthetic control method to create counterfactuals for treated units using control group information. Our results suggested that granting licensing increases the wages of DACA recipients. Moreover, granting licensing seems to raise education attainment, such as more DACA recipients finishing associate degrees. However, these positive effects are only shown in the short term (the first two to three years after the policy change). Then, gradually, we find no differences in the labor market outcomes of DACA recipients in the treated group relative to its control. In conclusion, even though access to licenses does improve labor market outcomes for DACA recipients, we are still questioning how effective this policy change is. Market outcomes for DACA recipients, we are still questioning how effective this policy change is.

VAR Model Analysis of Housing Market and Migration.

Abstract: This paper empirically examines the interaction between immigration and housing prices in the U.S. Firstly, we investigate how immigrants affect the housing market in the U.S. This occurs through at least two channels: higher housing demand from migration and natives' mobility in states. Secondly, housing prices contribute to the cost of living and the decision to move. We employ panel VECM techniques to use sizeable annual datasets: migration, housing prices, new housing supply, employment, income, and denial rate of mortgage applications from 50 states in the U.S from 2007 to 2020. Our results provide evidence that migration contributed to the increase in housing prices in the U.S. We also find that housing prices negatively affect migration in the U.S.