Labor Market Effect of Granting Amnesty to Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants in the Dominican Republic

This paper examines the labor market impact of an amnesty program in the Dominican Republic, that grants Venezuelan refugees and migrants an ID card that allows them to work legally. To identify the effect, we compare the outcomes of those who received and did not receive ID cards before and after they were issued, leveraging the unexpected timing of their distribution. Our findings reveal negligible effects on the extensive margin, but indicate positive effects on the quality of employment, particularly in the likelihood of having a written contract and working in the formal sector. However, no discernible impact is observed on the likelihood of being overqualified for ones job or salary. The results suggest that the amnesty has helped Venezuelans integrate into the formal labor market, yet additional reforms such as title validation may be necessary to address the remaining barriers limiting full socio-economic inclusion.