title: Foreign nurse importation and the supply of native nurses.
abstract: The importation of foreign registered nurses has been used as a strategy to ease nursing shortages in the United States. The effectiveness of this policy depends critically on the long-run response of native nurses. We examine the effects of immigration of foreign-born registered nurses on the long-run employment and occupational choice of native nurses. Using a variety of empirical strategies that exploit the geographical distribution of immigrant nurses across US cities, we find evidence of large displacement effects - over a ten-year period, for every foreign nurse that migrates to a city, between 1 and 2 fewer native nurses are employed in the city. We find similar results using data on nursing board exam-takers at the state level - an increase in the flow of foreign nurses significantly reduces the number of natives sitting for licensure exams in more dependent states relative to less dependent states. Using data on self-reported workplace satisfaction among a sample of California nurses, we find suggestive evidence that part of the displacement effects could be driven by a decline in the perceived quality of the workplace environment.
authors.affiliation: School of Management, Boston University. Electronic address: pcortes@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cortés
authors.affiliation: National University of Singapore. Electronic address: jesspan@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005551:Foreign Professional Personnel / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009726:Nurses / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D014481:United States
keywords: Displacement; Foreign nurses; Immigration