Effect of Immigrant Nurses on Labor Market Outcomes of U.S. Nurses

Robert Kaestner, University of Illinois at Chicago
Neeraj Kaushal, Columbia University

We study the effect of immigration of foreign-trained registered nurses (RNs) on the employment and wages of domestic RNs. We use the “area” approach and study effects of immigration in local labor markets defined by county or PMSA. Our analysis suggests that immigration of foreign-trained nurses significantly increases the overall supply of nurses in an area, but these increases in supply have little effect on the wages and employment of domestic nurses.