The impact of immigration on the British labour market

of the way immigration affects labour market outcomes of native born workers in Britain, set beside a theoretical discussion of the underlying economic mechanisms. We discuss problems arising in empirical estimation, and how to address them. We show that the overall skill dis-tribution of immigrants is remarkably similar to that of the native born workforce. We find no strong evidence that immigration has overall effects on aggregate employment, participation, unemployment and wages but some differences according to education. The possible negative effects of immigration on wages and employment outcomes of native workers is one of the core concerns in the public debate on immigration. Economic theory is well suited to help understand the possible consequences of immigration for receiving economies, and the theoretical aspects of the possible effects of immigration for the receiving economies labour markets are well understood. That is not to say that predictions of theory are clear-cut, however. It is compatible with economic models that changes in the size or composition of the labour force resulting from immigration could harm the labour market prospects of some native workers; however, it is likewise compatible with theory that immi