The empirical analysis investigates the impact of the 2016 Brexit referendum on the returns to immigrant UK degree holders. Using administrative data along with Difference-in-Differences (DiD) as identification strategy, we compare the EU immigrants to non-EU immigrants before and immediately after Brexit. The results indicate that Brexit significantly affected male EU immigrant workers, reducing hourly wages for those obtained UK degree by 15.54% while increasing returns for those without UK degree by 7.62%. We find no significant impact on female immigrant workers, neither with nor without a UK degree. Additionally, the negative effect is particularly pronounced among male immigrants holding UK degrees who fall within the top quartile of the wage distribution. In contrast, no statistically significant impact is observed for male EU immigrants without a UK degree in the same wage segment.
Keywords: Brexit referendum, UK immigrant, returns to UK degree
JEL Classification: F22, I26, J48, J61
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