Immigration and Economic Growth in the OECD Countries 1986-2006

This paper offers a reappraisal of the impact of migration on economic growthfor 22 OECD countries between 1986-2006 and relies on a unique data set we compiledthat allows us to distinguish net migration of the native - and foreign - bornpopulations by skill level. Specifically, after introducing migration in an augmentedSolow-Swan model, we estimate a dynamic panel model using a system of generalizedmethod of moments (SYS-GMM) to address the risk of endogeneity bias inthe migration variables. Two important findings emerge from our analysis. First,there exists a positive impact of migrants' human capital on GDP per capita, andsecond, a permanent increase in migration flows has a positive effect on GDP perworker. Moreover, the growth impact of immigration is high even in countries thathave non-selective migration policies