International Migration and Population Change in the 1990s: A New Regime? (original) (raw)

International Migration, Population Change and the Labour Force, 1991-1996: An Overview

Labour, Employment and Work in New Zealand

Between March 1991 and March 1996 the de facto population of New Zealand increased by around 225,000, the largest intercensal increase since the early 1970s. A short-lived surge in levels of natural increase in the early 1990s, coupled with some of the highest annual net migration gains since 1975, account for this substantial population growth. While there has been considerable comment in the media about the impact of this growth on the Auckland region in particular, the impacts which it has had on New Zealand's Labour force are less well known. This paper examines the components of change in labour force age groups between 1991 and 1996, isolating the impacts of immigration from those of structural change. The contrasting contributions to particular labour force age groups made by emigration of New Zealanders on the one hand, and immigration of citizens from other countries on the other, are then discussed. It is clear from the analysis that emigration and immigration are impa...

Immigration futures: New Zealand in a global context

2006

At no other time in the past century has there been such focused and intense global interest in international migration. Never before has there been such interest, internationally, in how Australia, Canada and New Zealand manage their international migration. These countries have become models for governments elsewhere who are seeking to develop policy that has a more direct impact on the quality of the population flows into their countries. New Zealand is unusual by OECD standards in that it has a high level of emigration of citizens at the same time that it has a very high per capita rate of immigration. New Zealand’s contemporary migration flows are examined briefly and it is demonstrated that the system is not nearly as dominated by migration from countries in northeast Asia as it was a decade ago. A more flexible approach to the attainment of permits to reside in a country is being adopted in most countries now. The prospective migrants take the opportunity to assess employment...

Immigration in a Population Context

Australian Economic Review, 2014

Immigration has conditioned the peopling of Australia. This article examines the evolution of Australia's population as influenced by immigration, what the impacts of population change have been for the economy, society and environment and what options exist to influence this process. The desirable course of policy is examined. A central role for immigration and the enhancement of its management and of complementary policies in building a worthy future for Australians are proposed. The contribution of past economic analysis to understanding of these issues and to informing policy settings is discussed and work still required in analysis and policy is identified.

Immigrants in New Zealand: a study of their labour market outcomes

Occasional Paper, 1998

This occasional paper studies the labour market outcomes of New Zealand's overseasborn population, using individual record data from the 1981, 1986 and 1996 Population Censuses. It focuses on a period in which the foreign-born share of the working-age population increased from 16 to 19 percent and Asia became the major region-of-origin for new arrivals. After providing a descriptive profile of New Zealand's immigrants, the paper uses regression analysis to compare the incomes, participation rates and employment rates of immigrants with those of similar New Zealand-born individuals, shortly after arrival and in subsequent years. Moreover, the paper identifies the factors that are associated with relatively good and relatively poor outcomes.

The Impact of Immigration on the Geographic Mobility of New Zealanders

Motu working paper, 2007

This paper uses data from the New Zealand Census to examine how the supply of recent migrants in particular skill groups affects the geographic mobility of the New Zealand-born and earlier migrants. We identify the impact of recent migration on mobility using the 'area-analysis' approach, which exploits the fact that immigration is spatially concentrated, and thus a change in the local supply of migrants in a particular skill group should have an impact on the mobility of similarly skilled nonmigrants in that local labour market. Overall, our results provide little support for the hypothesis that migrant inflows displace either the NZ-born or earlier migrants with similar skills in the areas that new migrants are settling. If anything, they suggest that there are positive spillovers between recent migrants and other individuals that encourage individuals to move to or remain in the areas in which similarly skilled migrants are settling. Thus, it appears unlikely that internal mobility moderates any potential impacts of immigration on labour or housing markets in New Zealand.

Trade, diaspora and migration to New Zealand

2009

NZIER has always had a strong interest in understanding the way in which the New Zealand economy interacts with the rest of the world. We have a long history of producing research into trade liberalisation and globalisation.