Amidst Swine Flu Mayhem, Remember Benefits Of Immigration

April 30, 2009 RSS Feed Print

The swine flu outbreak has given immigration opponents a new threat to harp upon as a reason to close the borders.

It's quite debatable we should even count the swine flu as a cost of an open immigration policy (which, to be clear, the US does not have). But I'll let other people carry on that debate. Instead, I'd like to point to more empirical evidence about the benefits more immigration brings to the American entrepreneurial sector. (See previous evidence here.)

The National Bureau of Economic Research has a new working paper by Jennifer Hunt, an economist at McGill University.

Using the 2003 National Survey of College Graduates, I show that immigrants who originally entered the United States on temporary work visas or on student/trainee visas... are more likely than natives to start a successful company, suggesting that immigrants have a niche in startups based on technical knowledge from master's and doctoral degrees.

We often hear about immigrants "taking jobs" form Americans, but rarely do we hear about the jobs they create.

What's interesting, though, is that this advantage for immigrants only applies to those on temporary visas--Hunt did not find that immigrants who arrive with permanent legal residence aren't more likely to be successful at startups than native-born Americans. I can only speculate, but that difference might say a lot about how hard it is to get legal residence. Productive, highly-educated immigrants instead take the easier, visa route.

Tags:
small business,
H1N1

Reader Comments Read all comments (1)

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

It's the majority of the--THE PEOPLE stupid--who demand E-Verify become MANDATORY--not the government or many corrupt politicians. They also demand it be conducted on everybody in the workplace--not just new hires. It's outrageous that many of our lawmakers have been brought by the parasite business world, who thinks they have a right to cheap illegal foreign labor. Those parasite businesses should be penalized to the full extent of the law. Enforcement of the 1986 Immigration Reform & Control act should be mandated. Addition Amendments could be added? We do not need another Path to citizenship--better known as AMNESTY. Last one was a travesty of the law, with copious fraud. Enforce E-Verify and illegal immigrants will not be hired. Without work they will leave? ATTRITION is the name of the game! Have questions regarding the Illegal alien invasion and our cultural, language, society and financial consequences. Find the untouched truth of rising taxes, costs, environment and OVERPOPULATION at these websites.

Then we must take into consideration the underhand agenda of the NAFTA super highway that doesn't---exist? That's why their are irate town hall meeting sprouting all around certain areas of Texas? Part of the plan is the free movement of cheap labor between the United States, Canada and Mexico. We should read the growing resentment to foreign cheap labor in Western Europe. Things are starting to rapidly deteriorate between the indigenous people of England, Italy, France and other parts of the Common Union. Regular Englishman and women are being intentionally ignore, just like American workers. It's mainly speeches and a few outbursts at the moment, but if I know my ancestors it's not going to remain that way. In these last few years THE BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY is starting to gain extra momentum, because the Brits are fed up with supporting illegal aliens, northern Europeans who are taking their jobs.

A blockbuster example is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Economics writer Ed Rubenstein’s new report, “The Earned Income Tax Credit and Illegal Immigration: A Study in Fraud, Abuse, and Liberal Activism,” The EITC functions as a wealth transfer to the poor, while today’s mass immigration imports poverty. The combination of these two factors makes a needless tax burden on native-born American families that much outrageous. The Center for Immigration Studies [CIS] reports that nearly a third of immigrant households qualified for the EITC in 2006. The author says immigrants collected about $12 billion from the EITC last year. Immigrants are eligible for the EITC so often because the United States allows “chain migration,” meaning that foreigners can migrate to the United States simply because, a grandfather an uncle or a aunt came here several years ago. There’s no requirement that they be educated, literate, or skilled. Many who are approved are sick, handicapped or a Senior citizen. Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundat

Brittanicus of IN 12:06AM May 01, 2009

Risky Business

Risky Business

Matt Bandyk, a reporter for U.S. News, explores capitalism from where it all begins, with the entrepreneur, whose risk taking and experimentation provide the roots from which the rest of the economy grows. As much courage as it takes to create one's own business, even the entrepreneur needs some help, and this blog will look at news, trends, and practical advice for starting and running a small business.

advertisement

advertisement