Short-run Labor Market Integration of Venezuelan Immigrants to Peru

Abstract

We study the negative wage premium Venezuelan immigrants face in the Peruvian labor market, the second largest receiving country of Venezuelan migrants. Consistent with an imperfect transfer of skills, we find that the higher the education level, the larger the negative wage premium. Also, as in south-to-north migration processes, foreign work experience has a negligible value in the host country. We find evidence that immigrants with a valid work permit tend to earn more per week than immigrants who do not. Though our analysis focuses on Venezuelans’ short-run assimilation, we find initial evidence that the longer the immigrants stay, the smaller the negative premium to their education.