Immigration and formal labor market participation in Ecuador: Empirical insights from a developing nation

Abstract

This research article reports an investigation of immigration effects on the probability of being part of the formal labor market in Ecuador, a developing South American economy. We use data on the population of Ecuador as collected in the Census of Population and Dwelling 2010. Using a discrete-choice probit model, we find a negative association between immigration and the probability of having a job in the formal labor market. This relationship stands for both international and local immigrants. We also find that long-term migrants (local or international) exhibit an increased likelihood of securing formal employment, while recent migrants face hurdles in accessing the formal labor market. In addition, our results show that international migrants face more difficulties in entering the formal labor market compared to local immigrants.

Keywords

• Formal labor market
• Local immigration
• International immigration
• Ecuador