Abstract

Switzerland implemented an immigration quota system to manage the inflow of immigration between 1970 and 2002. This paper adopts a diff-in-diff strategy with an instrument variable of xenophobic attitude to evaluate the effect of such policy. The author finds that the immigration quota system slowed down the growth of foreign population but had no impact on unemployment. Moreover, such restriction lowered the average skill level of the Swiss population and hurt the productivity of Swiss economy.

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