Immigration and economic growth in the OECD countries 1986-2006: A panel data analysis

This paper presents a reappraisal of the impact of migration on economic growth for 22 OECD countries between 1986 and 2006. It is based on a unique dataset that enables to distinguish net migration of the native-born and foreign-born by skill level. Migration is introduced in an augmented Solow-Swan model and the results are obtained using a GMM estimation, in order to deal with the potential endogeneity of the migration variables. In this framework, we identify a positive impact of the human capital brought by migrants on economic growth. The contribution of immigrants to the human capital accumulation tends to dominate the mechanical dilution effect, but the net effect is fairly small, including in countries which have highly selective migration policies.