The Impact of the Immigration Shock caused by the 2010 Haiti Earthquake on the Labour Market of Dominican Republic

Abstract

This paper uses data from the 2008-2014 National Labour Force Survey of the Dominican Republics (ENFT) to study the effect of the immigration shock caused by the 2010 Haiti earthquake on the Dominican Labour Market, paying especial attention to informal labour. A difference-in-difference estimation suggests that wages of national workers were reduced by 3 percent as a result of the immigration shock. The likelihood of full-time unskilled workers to be employed in the informal sector seems to be 1percentage points lower, while unskilled workers in general (regardless of full-time status) are 4 percentage points more likely to be informal. Lastly, the coefficient estimate of the probability of being employed suggest an adverse impact of 1percentage point.