https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7299-3449
![Sample our Urban Studies journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110826/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Urban-Studies.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
On the basis of a spatial wage-curve equation, this paper analyses the effect of immigration on average wages across Spanish provinces (NUTS-3) over the period 2004–15. To do so, a spatial panel Durbin model is estimated. The results reveal that there exists a small negative effect, which is mainly determined by the presence of spillovers. Moreover, they reveal that the average wage of a particular province depends positively on its productivity level and the share of the manufacturing industry, and negatively on its rate of unemployment and the share of the service sector.
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
SUPPLEMENTAL DATA
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2018.1424994.
ORCID
Adolfo Maza http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7299-3449
Notes
1. The importance of using spatial econometrics to capture spillover effects among neighbours was recently pointed out by, among others, Bruna, López-Rodríguez, and Faíña (Citation2016) and Andersson, Klaesson, and Larsson (Citation2016).
2. The provinces belonging to Navarre and the Basque Country, together with Ceuta and Melilla, were excluded for data availability reasons.
3. For recent surveys, see Okkerse (Citation2008) and Longhi et al. (Citation2005, Citation2010).
4. Although dealing with a slightly different topic, Niebuhr, Granato, Haas, and Hamann (Citation2012) estimate the effects of labour mobility (including migration and also commuting) on regional wages and unemployment in Germany from 1995 to 2005.
5. See García-Mainar and Montuenga-Gómez (Citation2003) and Ramos, Nicodemo, and Sanromá (Citation2015) for estimates of wage curves for Spain.
6. The inclusion of temporal dummies is mandatory because of the economic crisis outbreak; as our sample period is quite small, it is not convenient to split it into two sub-periods.
7. Although, due to lack of data on wages and other variables at a highly disaggregated geographical level, the analysis was carried out for NUTS-3 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) provinces, we agree that, as shown by Rubiera-Morollón and Viñuela (Citation2013) and Viñuela, Rubiera-Morollón, and Fernández-Vázquez (Citation2014), the use of analytical regions and more disaggregated data at a spatial level would be recommended. It could avoid the presence of the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP), as analytical areas are internally more homogeneous and spillovers are proved to appear at a very local level.
8. To deflate nominal variables, the consumer price index (base 2011) was used.
9. As we are analysing the effect of immigration on wages, we consider labour productivity to be more relevant than total factor productivity.
10. In order to avoid multicollinearity problems, the share of employment in agriculture was not included.
11. In any case, the estimation using two lags was performed and the results (available from the authors upon request) are very similar.
12. In any case, the results obtained with different distance matrices (available from the authors upon request) – namely, inverse of the distance, inverse of the square of the distance, matrices considering different cut-offs, as well as matrices with different numbers of neighbours – were quite similar.
13. The Shapiro–Wilk test for normality supports the use of maximum likelihood.
14. The results for the aspatial model are available from the authors upon request.
15. The inclusion of provincial fixed effects in equation (2) was supported by the Hausman test. The results also concurred with the importance of including fixed effects to control for the heterogeneity caused by the crisis.
16. The indirect effects result from averaging the indirect effect of each of the 46 provinces, each being the result of adding up each of the indirect effects between pairs of provinces.
17. The only exceptions are Tenerife and Las Palmas, in which the highest value corresponds to Las Palmas and Tenerife respectively; the direct effect is the second highest value.